Eurasia Press & News
The OSCE hopes that Albania will hold free and fair local elections on May 8th, the mission’s head Eugen Wollfarth said on Monday (April 11th) in an interview with Top Channel TV. The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) made 31 recommendations for reforms to Albania’s Electoral code, but only a few have been applied without changing the law, Wollfarth said. He called on all parties to abstain from violence and avoid incidents that have marred campaigning over the past ten days.
Such incidents triggered lawsuits between police and officials from the interior ministry on Monday. Special Forces Commander Shemsi Premci has filed a lawsuit against Deputy Interior Minister Avenir Peka, arguing Peka asked him to break the law and send troops to intervene in two cases by threatening and personally offending him. The interior ministry says a counter-lawsuit has been submitted for slander. In a press release, the ministry urged parties to leave state police out of politics.
