Election monitoring begins, ODIHR: We are observers, we are talking to SPAK with reports

ODIHR has begun monitoring the parliamentary election process on May 11. Ambassador Lamberto Zannieri stated that the mission will extend to the 12 regions of the country, underlining that ODIHR has a duty to observe and not to be the arbiter of the parliamentary elections.

The May 11 election process has officially come under the scrutiny of the OSCE ODIHR. The head of the monitoring mission, Ambassador Lamberto Zannieri, appeared before journalists, underlining that 326 observers will be deployed throughout the country to document their findings.

But when asked whether he would address these findings to SPAK, the head of the mission was careful to emphasize that ODIHR is an observer, not an arbiter. 

"We are not here as a mission to perform other functions or tasks, of course we are very committed to cooperating with the authorities in the country, but our findings of electoral irregularities during the mission will be included and shared with the authorities through our reports," said Lamberto Zannieri.

Political accusations of abuse in the May 11 electoral process have begun to resound, accusations which seem to have increased the vigilance of the ODIHR.

"My job is not to give advice or appeals to the ruling party or parties in general. Our job is to, through observation and reporting, curb such phenomena that we have seen and reported in the past. If we see issues such as the misuse of public assets, or the buying and selling of votes, if there are indications of them, we will speak out, we will express them. We hope that the attention we will pay to all these phenomena will discourage such initiatives," Zannieri emphasized.

Unlike past electoral processes, this time the ODIHR must also monitor voting from abroad.

"Yes, we will pay attention to the way the ballots are managed at the airport. We will try to be physically at the airport to see how it is managed, until the moment the vote is counted and reported to the relevant commission. We will pay attention to ensuring transparency in this process," Zannieri continued.

In addition to the 326 ODIHR observers, the parliamentary election monitoring mission will also be joined by groups from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and diplomatic missions accredited in Tirana. (A2 Televizion)