The former head of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Denar Biba stated on Ilva Now that in Albania, elections have always been contested even before they actually take place.
He pointed out that the difference between Albania and other western countries is the fact that in these countries, elections are conceded even before they take place because citizens and running candidates trust their institutions.
“We dispute our elections even before they’re held. It is our mentality. They [the west] concede the elections even before the fact because that is the process. It is a democratic instrument,” he said.
The editor-in-chief of Euronews Albania, Mentor Kikia stated that “the instinct of contestation of the elections” comes as a result of responsible institutions being unable to this day, to guarantee citizens’ trust.
He added too that the Democratic Party should put together a very strong argument, through which it can justify their third consecutive defeat against the majority force.
“The contestation instinct was produced as a consequence of people’s lack of trust in their government institutions. DP needs a very strong argument in order to justify their third loss. We need to draw the red line in order to stop the tempering of the vote so that in the upcoming elections we can trust the referee,” said Kikia.
