The leader of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, has responded to Taulant Balla regarding the Special Committee on Electoral Reform.
“The opposition has never boycotted the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. This is a public fact and easily verifiable. There has been no meeting of this Committee convened in which our representatives were not present.
What is happening is an attempt by the majority to divert and obstruct the work of the Committee, shifting attention toward secondary issues that have no connection with the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission. This focus on issues that do not address the standards for free, fair and equal elections is dragging out the process and hindering the fulfillment of Albania’s obligations to guarantee the integrity of the electoral process.
As regards the draft law on the financing of political parties, the initial draft prepared by the Special Committee was sent to the OSCE/ODIHR Office and the Venice Commission for urgent assessment. The experts of these institutions have conveyed their full opinions and recommendations. The opposition’s position is clear: all of their remarks and recommendations must be fully reflected in the text of the draft law. This process cannot be considered complete, and the draft law cannot move forward without full addressing of the OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission recommendations.
The opposition will continue to insist that the Electoral Reform fulfill not merely a formal or procedural obligation, but the standards and requirements also set out by the European Commission: restoring public trust in the electoral process, guaranteeing fair political competition and protecting the integrity of elections.
Electoral Reform must produce real guarantees for free, fair and equal elections, and must not turn into a formal process that avoids addressing the fundamental problems of electoral democracy in Albania”, Bardhi said in a reaction on social networks.