Albania’s June Elections: A Key Test for Democracy

April 23, 2013
12:00 pm - 02:00 pm

About the event

Since ending decades of Communist rule and isolation in 1991, Albania has made substantial progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration, joining NATO in 2009 and receiving conditional EU candidate status in 2012. Progress on consolidating Albania’s democratic institutions, however, has been uneven. Elections have been particularly problematic: none of the major polls since the introduction of a multiparty system has been considered free and fair or resulted in the uncontested transfer of power. The 2013 parliamentary elections, just two months away, will be both a key test of Albania’s democratic progress and a determining factor in its continued progress toward the EU.

Panelists discussed the role of political parties and civil society in contributing to a transparent and democratic contest, challenges to be faced before, during and after the polls themselves, and ways the international community can help support a credible election process.

Featuring:

Dritan Taulla, KRIIK Albania Association and the Coalition for Domestic Observers

Jonathan Moore, Office of South Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Rob Benjamin, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

Janusz Bugajski, Independent analyst and host of “Bugajski Hour,” Albanian Screen TV

Moderated by:

Janet Rabin Satter, National Endowment for Democracy

Event summary

“Albania’s June Elections: A Key Test for Democracy” was the theme of an April 23rd discussion co-hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute and Open Society Foundations. The June 23rd parliamentary elections will be a key test of Albania’s democratic progress and a determining factor in its continued progress toward qualifying to join the European Union.

The panel featured Dritan Taulla, Deputy Chairperson of the KRIIK Albania Association and the Coalition for Domestic Observers; Jonathan Moore, Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State; Robert Benjamin, Regional Director of Central and Eastern Europeat the National Democratic Institute; and Janusz Bugajski, host of “Bugajski Hour” and an independent analyst. NED’s Janet Rabin Satter moderated the discussion.

Panelists discussed the role of political parties and civil society in contributing to a transparent and democratic contest, challenges to be faced before, during and after the polls themselves, and ways the international community can help support a credible election process.

Since ending decades of Communist rule and isolation in 1991, Albania has made substantial progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration, joining NATO in 2009 and receiving conditional EU candidate status in 2012. Progress on consolidating Albania’s democratic institutions, however, has been uneven.

Albanians are losing trust in each other and in the institutions that promote democracy, Taulla said. However, he added that if the elections are free, fair and transparent, it will help Albanian citizens regain faith in democracy and democratic institutions.

The Albanian people deserve their right to express their voice through elections, Moore said.

The elections are an important opportunity for all parties and the government to show their commitment to free and fair elections, he added.

“The [government] has an extraordinary obligation to the people of Albania to make sure that these elections have integrity,” Benjamin said.

Bugajski said there are many issues that Albanians need to resolve—with international support where possible—such as legislative gridlock, limited civic engagement in politics, perception of high level corruption, and public alienation from the political process.

“The elections [are important] for the effectiveness of the political system and the legitimacy of the political elite,” he said. “This [comes] at a time of economic stress…and at a time when the European Union is itself in a period of uncertainty and turmoil.”

If these questions are not resolved, Albania could witness the development of new destabilizing factors such as populism, nationalism and potential irredentism, he added.

Despite the challenges encountered in the run-up to the polls, all of the political parties have voiced their desire for the June 2013 elections to happen on time, Moore said. The political parties have also agreed to respect the results no matter the outcome, he said.

About the speakers

Dritan Taulla is Deputy Chairperson of the KRIIK Albania Association, a NED grantee based in Tirana. Established in 1997, KRIIK is a nongovernmental, nonpartisan organization that promotes civic engagement and human rights, and seeks to actively involve Albanian youth in the country’s democratization processes. KRIIK has monitored every election in Albania since 2005, when it joined with two other organizations to establish the Coalition of Domestic Observers. In 2009, KRIIK also became a member of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO). In addition to his work with KRIIK, Taulla is also an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Tirana.

Jonathan Moore is Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, a position he has held since August 2012. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Moore has served as a desk officer for the former Yugoslavia, Political/Economic Section Chief of the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania, Deputy Director of the Office of Russian Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé at the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, and, most recently, Deputy Chief of Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moore was also Congressional Fellow in the Policy Office of Speaker of the House Hastert and National Security Affairs Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Robert Benjamin is a senior associate and Regional Director of Central and Eastern Europe programs. In this latter role, he oversees in-country and regional programs in legislative strengthening, political party development, civil society development, election processes, and women, youth and ethnic minority political participation. He has also contributed to democracy programs in Asia, Latin America, North Africa and West Africa. Benjamin has worked at NDI since 1993. He holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Janusz Bugajski is a policy analyst, author, lecturer, columnist, and television host based in the United States. He is also a senior associate (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and host of the television show “Bugajski Hour,” broadcast on Albanian Screen from Tirana. Author of 18 books on Europe, Russia, and transatlantic relations, Bugajski is a regular contributor to various U.S. and European newspapers, publishes in international journals, and is a columnist for media outlets in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, and Ukraine. His newest book is entitled Return of the Balkans: Challenges to European Integration and U.S. Disengagement.

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