The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election monitoring mission is prioritizing the scrutiny of campaign financing for the May 11 elections in Albania.
ODIHR observers confirmed that party funding remains a critical area of focus in their monitoring efforts. Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, head of the ODIHR observation mission, stated that their election methodology includes a thorough examination of this issue.
“The observation will be done by looking at the situation on the ground and what has been implemented from previous recommendations in this area. This is one of the most important areas,” Zannier said.
Mark Stevens, deputy head of the ODIHR observation mission, emphasized that campaign finance is a significant challenge in many countries. “We look at it from two perspectives. From the perspective of legislation, whether the legislation is where it should be in terms of transparency, we make the relevant recommendations and then see how these recommendations are implemented,” Stevens added.
The second perspective, he noted, involves the administration of campaign finance reports by electoral bodies. “How campaign finance reports are managed and administered. Another thing that complicates this area is spending,” he said.
