Luxembourg, 25/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Following the parliamentary elections in Albania on 23 June, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle called on the Albanian parties to act “in a constructive spirit” during the next stages of the electoral process.
“It is important that the remaining stages of the election process are conducted in line with EU and international standards”, said Ashton and Füle in a joint press release on Tuesday 25 June. The official results of the elections are not yet known. Ashton and Füle encouraged the Albanian authorities to take action, once the results are known, on the “timely” formation of the government to ensure that the reform of Albania might be pursued “vigorously” and to ensure that the European integration process might gain “new momentum”.
Ashton and Füle also called for “adequate follow up to the preliminary findings and conclusions of the international election observation missions”. They congratulated the Albanians for the calm that accompanied the conduct of the elections, while condemning the reported cases of violence and expecting that these incidents be fully investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice.
In the opinion of the observers from the OSCE and Council of Europe, the elections allowed fair competition, with the active participation of citizens throughout the campaign and the respect of fundamental freedoms. However, the climate of distrust between the two main political forces stained the electoral environment. The holding of free and fair elections is one of the conditions for Albania's obtaining status of accession candidate to the European Union. (CG/transl.fl)