Dear Participants,

Thanks to the Albanian Helsinki Committee and the British Embassy for convening this meeting today, and bring around the table for all key actors involved in the resolution of electoral disputes and in handling election-related offences.

The EU has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Albania’s efforts to strengthen further its electoral process.

Our mission here in Albania is to support the country meeting all the fundamental requirements for EU membership. Having a solid electoral framework in place, which is a key factor of democracy, is one of those fundamental requirements.

Our democratic election processes and our rule of law systems all have vulnerabilities which need to be looked at closely and which can undermine the legitimacy of such processes.

This is why electoral crimes must be duly investigated and prosecuted and election disputes must be addressed effectively, impartially and in a transparent way.

It is essential to have a robust system of election dispute resolution with clear rules, reasonable deadlines, with appropriate due process guarantees. All of this is important to increase public trust in elections and protect voters’ rights.

In our dialogue with Albanian institutions on electoral issues, our central guidance remain the OSCE/ODIHR election observation recommendations. The recommendations of the last elections are clear:

They call on law enforcement bodies to make all efforts to identify and independently investigate all allegations of electoral violations, including vote-buying, pressure on voters and misuse of administrative resources; all this in a thorough, timely and transparent manner. They also call on authorities should make genuine efforts to raise awareness about vote-buying and the risks it poses for the integrity of elections.

ODIHR also provides specific recommendations to further strengthen the election dispute resolution system and address outstanding issues.

To this I would add that it is important that any electoral reform discussion be conducted in a constructive and inclusive way. The resumption of normal parliamentary work is for me an encouraging sign and I hope that the political forces will be able to address all outstanding issues.

I hope that today’s conference will be an opportunity for all actors to have deep exchanges on these issues. I really welcome that all key actors are present to discuss the matter openly, to share their experience and perspectives.

Clearly civil society organisations play a key role in ensuring accountability of electoral processes. In Albania as elsewhere, they are closely monitoring electoral processes, and they are often the ones who expose violations and submit complaints to the relevant authorities.

In this respect we remain committed to supporting them and strengthen their capacity.

I wish you a fruitful and constructive discussion.