On the eve of the parliamentary elections of April 25 in Albania, the Italian Embassy has released a declaration, where amongst other things the meeting between the Italian ambassador to Albania, Fabrizio Buci with the State Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi is mentioned. With this press release, the Italian Embassy calls for democratic and calm elections, away from the use of violence.

“The elections should be held through a calm climate, without the use of violence. In a democracy, election day is a day of celebration. It is the most important moment and the most sacred because it represents the moment, when the people express and decides, who they want to be governed by. This is the reason why we condemn the acts of violence in the recent days. Violence doesn’t coincide with democracy,” says the declaration.

Amongst other things, the Embassy’s press release adds that these elections will be of a high importance in Albania, not only because of its future but because they will be observed by the entire world and the eyes of the European Union.

“These elections will be crucially important. The eyes of Europe and the entire world will be focused on Albania. We call on all political forces and all Albanian institutions to show responsibility, self-restraint and maturity, during a year when the negotiations for the membership of Albania in the EU will commence, or at least that is what the wish and hope of Italy is,” write the press release.

In conclusion, the Italian Embassy confirms their continuous support for Albania and notify that various groups of observers have been organized and will carefully monitor the elections process during and after the voting process.