|
Appeal
by the Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC)
to the political parties
25.05.2009
On May 28, 2009,
according to the Electoral Code, the campaign
for the parliamentary elections of June 28,
2009, begins. In fact, political parties have
begun that campaign since several months ago,
without even being registered with the CEC as
electoral subjects.
AHC, as a non-governmental
organization with experience in the area of
election monitoring, has followed attentively
the various meetings of political party
representatives with different groups of the
electorate, including press conferences and
televised debates.
It is understandable for all that
the electoral campaign cannot take place without
debates. Therefore, it is not possible to avoid,
during the campaign, cases of passionate, or
even excessive, rhetoric. However, in our view,
the most important thing is the capability to
display with convincing arguments the
alternatives and programs of the respective
electoral subjects and not mutual accusations
accompanied by insults and slander that go as
far as violating the right to privacy.
Regretfully, AHC notices that
this year’s election campaign too, there are
cases of the language of cynicism and hatred
replacing electoral ethics.
That is precisely the reason why
AHC appeals on electoral subjects, primarily the
largest government and opposition parties, to
avoid any position or action that would
aggravate the campaign climate and would not be
useful to free, fair, and uncontested elections.
AHC deems it necessary to
emphasize that the electoral propaganda, charged
with elements that seek to denigrate the
political opponent, and personalized to violate
human dignity, has nothing in common with
constructive debates or the norms of democratic
culture.
In that sense, AHC suggests that
the political parties (electoral subjects),
through a draft agreement or preliminary
electoral code, publicly express their will to
conduct a lawful, well-behaved campaign that is
free from conflict and excesses, which could
make the situation before the June 28, 2009,
elections tense.
If deemed reasonable, the
President of the Republic, who represents the
unity of the people, could undertake such an
initiative as, in special cases, his
intervention and contribution, would be very
necessary and useful.
|
