Local Elections, 12 October 2003 and 25 January 2004

Following an invitation from Albania's Foreign Ministry, ODIHR deployed an election observation mission on 10 September 2003 to monitor the local government elections held on 12 October 2003 and repeat voting on 25 January 2004.

Headed by Ambassador Robert Barry of the United States, the mission included 11 international staff based at the Tirana head office and 18 long-term observers deployed throughout the country. Three of the long-term observers were recruited through a voluntary fund established to diversify the national composition of election observation missions.

On election day, the mission was joined by a delegation from the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. A total of 220 short-term observers from 25 OSCE participating States were deployed to observe election-day proceedings.

According to the mission's final report: "The local government elections were a missed opportunity for significant progress towards compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. While important improvements were noted in the campaign, media coverage, handling of complaints and appeals, and election administration, the process was again protracted and litigious, especially in Tirana. Problems with counting were particularly widespread. Although the Socialist Party (SP) and Democratic Party (DP) showed an unprecedented capacity for dialogue during reform of the legal framework, more political will was required from both parties to ensure an effective and credible election process."