Albania Enjoys Calmest Ever Election Campaign

PM, Edi Rama during an electoral meeting. Photo: Rama’s Facebook Page

If a foreign tourist, businessperson or other foreign visitor travelled through Albania at the moment, he or she would have no way of knowing that crucial parliamentary elections are taking place in the country on Sunday.

There are no electoral posters or party flags, which usually cover the facades of every buildings ahead of elections, because this time political paraphernalia is allowed only during parties’ pre-election rallies.

Yet even these rallies are unlike those before, as they have been passing off without heated speeches and a lot of noise, so as not to disturb people who are not interested in participating.

“It’s the first time that if you don’t watch television, you cannot know that Albania going through an electoral campaign. This time the campaign has not interfered with people’s lives and the electoral marketing has been minimal,” Neritan Sejamini, a political analyst and editor at a website called Exit, told BIRN.

Sejamini stressed that without any doubt, this electoral campaign has been one of the quietest ever held in the country. He added that this time, most parties have relied more on media than rallies.

He commended the fact that this time politicians employed in the public administration were restricted from participating in the campaign.

This calm and quiet campaign is one of side-effects of the US- and EU-sponsored political agreement on May 18 between the leader of the Socialist Party, PS, Edi Rama and his counterpart from the Democratic Party, PD, Lulzim Basha.

This agreement ended three months of political stalemate and ensured opposition parties’ representation in the technical government which is organising the ballot, thus securing opposition parties’ participation in the election.

Under the agreement, the two leaders pledged to stay away from pre-election campaigns and agreed to the establishment of government bodies – including ministers from both parties – that were tasked with monitoring and preventing any wrongdoing during the campaign.

The criminal code was amended as well, adding more severe measures against those who give and take money for votes or violate other standards of free and fair elections.

Breaking the silence

However, these measures did not prevent any disturbances.

On June 20, the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, the junior party in the current government, filed a lawsuit against Edi Rama, the country’s prime minister and the leader of the LSI’s coalition partner, the PS.

In the lawsuit, the LSI also requested that Rama be checked by doctors so that they can confirm whether he is fit to “conduct his job” or not.

 The lawsuit was linked with a statement by Rama during an electoral meeting on June 16, in which he called on police officers to campaign for his PS party after work.  

The statement essentially invited them to violate the law which bans police electoral from political parties’ campaigns even after their regular working hours. The next day, Rama apologised, saying it was a mistake.

The LSI has also accused Rama’s Socialists of inciting violence against its supporters.

After Gjovalin Gjini, the LSI mayor of the village of Rraboshte in northern Albania, was beaten by four unidentified men on June 16, the LSI’s local representatives accused local representatives of the Socialist Party of being behind the attack.

The situation heated up on June 17 when the former chairman of the LSI, and Albanian President Ilir Meta, came to visit the wounded village headman.

Meta asked the village people to arm themselves if the police fais to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack.  

“All residents will be armed if the police do not put a leash on those dogs,” Meta said, without hiding his anger.

A few hours after the incident, police issued a statement confirming the attack but added that an initial investigation suggested that the incident was not politically motivated.

PS party representatives in the area also distanced themselves from the attack.

The incident was followed by two more LSI reports complaining of attacks on their supporters and blaming the police for alleged violence. The police stated they were investigating the cases.

On Thursday, local media reported that two women working in a medical centre in the eastern town of Erseka became involved in a fight that was allegedly politically motivated, with one woman supporting the LSI and the other the PS.

Sejamini, the editor of Exit, sees the potential for further incidents between supporters of the PS and the LSI.

He said that he believes that the leaders of the two parties should stop these quarrels to prevent a further escalation of violence.

“There is a strong rivalry and feelings of hostility among them and this might bring dangerous incidents in isolated areas,” he said.

But Skender Minxhozi, editor-in-chief of the Java News website, told BIRN that in his opinion, the LSI’s complaints may be a part of its pre-election strategy.

“Messages like ‘we are being physically attacked because we are so strong’ looks like an electoral move,” he said, adding that no one can really predict if the situation will remain so peaceful and quiet until the end of election day.

Sejamini stressed that such a calm and quiet campaign and the absence of political pressure could motivate voters to go out and participate in the elections in greater numbers.

“However, the police should really be careful and committed during all these days,” he said, while concluding: “You never know how these things may go.”