Election Monitors Start Mission in Troubled Albania

"The purpose of the mission is to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the elections and to recommend whether ODIHR election-related activity is necessary," the organization said in a statement.

ODIHR will release a report with findings and recommendations shortly after the completion of the mission.

On Tuesday, they met Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinsto, who after the meeting urged the Socialist opposition to separate their political agenda from the necessary preparations for the May local elections.

"The opposition should set aside its political activity from the need to engage in an electoral process with European standards," Haxhinsto said.

Albania’s centre-right majority, headed by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, and the Socialist opposition, headed by Edi Rama, have engaged in a tense political standoff over the past 18 months concerning the results of the June 2009 general elections, which the Socialists say were marred by fraud.

The first parliamentary session after the winter recess on Monday turned into a brawl as Prime Minister Berisha exchanged insults with opposition MPs for nearly four hours.

Opposition leader Edi Rama has called for a massive protest in Tirana on Friday, demanding early general elections, as the government finds itself tangled in a fresh corruption scandal that last week led to the resignation of deputy premier Ilir Meta.

During their three-day stay in Tirana, the assessment mission will meet representatives of the Central Election Commission, the Ministry of Interior, the National Council for Radio and Television, as well as representatives of political parties, civil society and the international community.