The OSCE/ODIHR has published the final report on the May 11, 2025 parliamentary elections in Albania, highlighting a number of problems related to the use of state resources and the lack of equal competition between parties.
According to the report, candidates were, in most cases, able to campaign freely, but the opportunities to compete were not equal.
“The ruling party benefited from the extensive use of state resources and institutional capacities, including the announcement, shortly before election day, of a large number of fines being waived. Senior government officials also participated in a series of official activities, which often coincided with campaign messages, blurring the distinction between state and party,” the report states.
DP leader Sali Berisha reacted immediately after the report was published, describing it as the final proof of the May 11 electoral farce.
"Edi Rama has chosen silence and deception to cover up his complete and total failure to change the fatal report on the May 11 parliamentary elections by international observers," Berisha declared.
He stressed that the Albanian government had made efforts to influence the content of the report, but according to him, they completely failed.
"As I had warned, attempts were made to change the terms of the report, but they had zero effect. It is to the credit of the monitoring institutions that they stood by the findings word for word, which prove a true electoral farce."
Berisha added that the final report fully supports the findings of the preliminary report, emphasizing that the May 11 elections violated fundamental international principles embodied in the Copenhagen Charter, the Venice Code and other international documents on free elections.
"The Electoral Code was violated 4,500 times with prohibited events during the electoral campaign," Berisha said, adding that the amounts used for these activities "reach tens and hundreds of millions of euros, including 7 million euros for the organization of the 'Giro D'Italia'."