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Analysts: The election campaign in Albania, still far from the citizens' concerns

2023-04-20 19:25:24, Politikë CNA

Analysts: The election campaign in Albania, still far from the citizens'

Analysts claim that the election campaign has started rapidly for several months and with it the challenges that must be overcome have also increased.

The representative of the Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Gjergj Vurmo, says that in matters such as good governance and public safety, the fight against crime and corruption, the trajectory of the results is not as positive as expected in relation to the country's reforms, the process of integration and consolidation of democratic institutions. .

"The media has reported and all of us are witnesses of a very challenging public security situation with very serious events, which apparently, especially the recent events, have their connections with the part of the electoral campaign. There is a lot of room for improvement and unfortunately we are also facing some very disturbing challenges", says Mr. Vurmo.

Analysts note that in many ways these are no ordinary local elections. The majority is in the third term of government, as well as many mayors across the country.

But according to them, there is again a lack of a real debate on local government alternatives, that the campaign is being dominated by the main politicians, who are making promises on a national scale, ignoring the problems that the cities are currently suffering.

"It seems that this electoral campaign is also going in the same direction as other times, ignoring the part of confronting the political offers and keeping the debate mainly at the level of party leaders. Journalists and the media are not working hard enough to get the information that citizens need to make their political choice", says Valbona Sulçe, media researcher.

Political developments are a test for the institutions themselves, experts say. Mr. Vurmo emphasizes that the expectation that the citizens express in the surveys is that the state institutions should express a higher degree of stability, maturity and focus more on strengthening the institution and not on the return of challenges, which we have seen regularly in these 3 decade of transition.

"It is time for the institutions to show prudence and show that the country deserves this stage where it is now within the framework of relations with the European Union. On the contrary, the development of the integration process will remain in the same place again, the same challenges will be recycled and why not the same reports from the EU side will be recycled", says Mr. Vurmo .

Analysts note that a balance is still not being made on how many of the previous promises have been realized, and what is specifically being promised in this campaign.

Ms. Sulçe emphasizes that journalists should go closer to the candidates and ask them about the platforms, to inform the citizens about their concrete problems and not take ready-made campaign videos from the parties.

She says that the media needs courage to overcome the situation, to fulfill its mission, to tell the truth to the citizens and not to be influenced by invisible connections.

"There is an unhealthy relationship between the media and politics in Albania. The policy defines the media's editorial policies. No one is forcing journalists to take ready-made tapes produced by political parties and broadcast them as their own work. Acting in this way, they have deceived public opinion and on the other hand, they are doing a propaganda service to both sides of politics, which have unverified information", says Mrs. Sulçe.

Researchers note that Albania needs greater civil society activism. This is the reason that the Institute for Democracy and Mediation today once again shared grants with organizations from all over the country for local initiatives, part of the SMART Balkans regional project.

They support projects on vulnerable groups in rural areas, the protection of women and girls from domestic violence, the care and shelter of the Roma and Egyptian community, for young people who do not hear, as well as other concrete initiatives for communities in need./ VOA