Parliamentary Elections, 25 April 2021
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Ambassador Urszula Gacek (Poland)
Core team of 13 experts from 10 OSCE participating States, based in Tirana
24 long-term observers deployed throughout the country
Mission schedule
19 March: Opening of the mission
24 March: Arrival of long-term observers
25 March: Briefing of long-term observers
26 March: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country
25 April: Election day
26 April: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
1 May: Departure of long-term observers
7 May: Departure of the core team
Press conference
Following an invitation from the authorities of the Republic of Albania to observe the parliamentary elections scheduled for 25 April 2021, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) for this election.
The ODIHR LEOM and the OSCE Presence in Tirana operate separately under their specific mandates.
Long-term Observation
The ODIHR LEOM, headed by Ambassador Urszula Gacek, consists of 13 international experts based in Tirana. In addition, 24 long-term observers, from 12 participating countries, will be deployed throughout the country from 26 March.
The mission will assess the election for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards, as well as with national legislation. Observers will, in particular, look into the legal framework for the election, the administration of election, candidate registration, conduct of the campaign, the resolution of election-related disputes, campaign finance rules, as well as media environment and media coverage of the election. They will also assess how prior ODIHR election-related recommendations have been implemented. As part of the observation, the LEOM will conduct comprehensive monitoring of the media.
Election Day
While the mission will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results on election day is not envisaged.
The day after the election, the ODIHR LEOM, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately two months after the end of the observation mission.
Cooperation with Other Partners
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) are planning to deploy its observer delegations to the elections.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously observed 14 elections and a referendum in the country, most recently the 2019 local elections.
