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Tirana,
18 February 2005
Will
the ZEC-s be set up by March 3, 2005?!
18.02.2005
The
Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC), as one of the organizations that
monitors periodic elections in Albania, is following with attention
the preparations for the parliamentary elections of this year.
The
AHC expresses its particular concern over the fact that the Albanian
Assembly has not yet approved the division of constituencies. As a
result, it is already difficult and even impossible to set up at the
appropriate legally-required time the zonal election commissions (ZEC-s),
which according to article 34 of the Electoral Code, should be set
up not later than six months before the expiration of the mandate of
the Assembly," that is March 3, 2005.
14
days are left until March 3, 2005. The draft law for the division of
electoral zones has not been submitted yet to the Assembly of
Albania. The AHC is of the opinion that even if the law is approved
by the Assembly through accelerated procedures, the legal deadline
for the setup of zonal electoral commissions will have been
violated.
The
Albanian Helsinki Committee reaches this conclusion based on the
following arguments:
First,
the commission of the Electoral Zone is appointed by the Central
Election Commission based on the proposals submitted by the
respective political parties. Political parties should take into
consideration the incompatibility and legal conditions established
by law for being a member and secretary of the ZEC (articles 34/1
and 34/2 of the Electoral Code);
Second,
the CEC appoints ZEC members not later than 15 days upon submission
of proposals, when it finds that the proposal is in keeping with
legal requirements.
Third,
within 15 days following the submission of proposals, the CEC should
conduct verification procedures on each of the 700 members and 100
secretaries of the ZEC-s.
Any
formalism or haste in this regard could lead to appointments that
are in contravention of the respective provisions of the Electoral
Code. The AHC also keeps in mind that, according to recommendations
of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission, the training of members
should have been done "not later than 180 days before the day
of the elections" (Recommendations, Albanian translation, page
5).
It
is clear to everyone that delays in setting up the ZEC-s will lead
to delays in their training, at the end of which, according to the
above-mentioned recommendations "they should be tested and
those individuals that receive satisfying results will be
'certified' as election administrators."
The
Albanian Helsinki Committee is of the opinion that the late set up
and training of ZEC members could be accompanied by harmful
consequences and would have a negative impact on the conduct of the
elections.
The
AHC is of the opinion that carrying out the duty to hold free, fair,
and uncontested elections requires not only political will, but also
a rigorous enforcement of the Electoral Code.
This
is the reason that the AHC deems it necessary to call upon the
political parties and particularly the two largest parties to
achieve consensus on the division of electoral constituencies in
order to serve the country's interests, and respect the Constitution
and the law.
The
AHC also suggests to the Assembly of Albania to demand the
submission as soon as possible of the draft law on the division of
constituencies for approval.
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