EU's Fule Visits Albania Ahead of Elections

“Albania’s elections are important but will not solve the critical issues; no culture of compromise and lack of inclusivity,” Fule wrote on Friday on Twitter.

The Enlargement Commissioner arrives in Tirana on Monday at a tense time ahead of June parliamentary elections. 

Although the elections are months away, the ruling Democrats, led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, and the opposition Socialists under Edi Rama are already at odds over the poll standards.  

The Central Electoral Commission, CEC, remains divided on political lines and questions have emerged about whether it will be able to oversee a free and fair elections process.

Despite obtaining a conditional recommendation from the European Commission, which required the approval of three laws, the EU Council of Ministers rejected Albania’s bid for candidate status in December 2012.

The Council said that despite making some progress Albania had to do more in the fight against corruption and organized crime and conduct elections according to international standards.  

Albania’s has long history of contested polls that do not meet international standards. The last parliamentary elections in 2009 sparked a political crisis, which reverberates to this day.