The US Special Envoy for the Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, paid a two-day visit to Tirana, where he met with leaders from every side of the political spectrum, except former prime minister Sali Berisha, just over a month before local elections.
According to a US Embassy announcement, the series of meetings with political stakeholders each underlined the importance of the upcoming elections, the need to implement ODIHR recommendations, and that all candidates should meet the requirements under Albanian law.
“He will also discuss USA-Albania cooperation on regional and global priorities, including rejecting the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the embassy said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Escobar met with Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Bajram Begaj.
“After appreciating the excellent relations and strategic partnership between the two countries, President Begaj underlined the irreplaceable role of the US in guaranteeing peace and security in the Western Balkans region,” an announcement from the presidency states.
Begaj appreciated the support the US and Escobar had given to the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, it added.
“The normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, centred on their mutual recognition, is a process with a great regional impact, both in terms of security and its sustainable development.”
Begaj also thanked Escobar for US assistance amid ongoing cyber attacks from Iran that started in 2022.
On Wednesday, Escobar met with the de facto Chairman of the Democratic Party, Enkelejd Alibeaj. Following the meeting, party deputy Oriola Pampuri told the media that the party’s pro-Western stance had been discussed.
“The DP issue was discussed, there was a spirit of support for the group that has maintained a pro-Western stance. Therefore, Escobar had tremendous support. What is worth noting is the support that Escobar gave to DP and it is clear that he came to DP and met Alibeaj. This shows a lot, I believe,” Pampuri said.
Alibeaj was recently recognised as the de facto chairman of the PD following a long-winded dispute with Berisha.
Escobar then met with the former president and leader of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta.
“For Albania, the alliance with the USA is fundamental for democracy, economic development, security of the country and the region….I expressed the determination of the Freedom Party to speed up the European integration process of the country, with a priority on the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the rule of law,” he said in a statement.
As for the ODIHR recommendations, the report on the 2021 parliamentary elections pointed out, among other things, “the significant advantages that the governing party enjoyed from being in power, including through the control of local administrations and the waste of administrative resources.”
For the process to have integrity, “voters will have to be able to make real, well-informed choices between different candidates. Candidates must play on a level playing field, and voters must have the universal right to vote,” ODIHR representative Audrey Glover said. “Voters must have the opportunity to vote freely, secretly, safely, and the vote is counted correctly.”
Escobar did not meet with Berisha, who leads the other faction of the PD, which has partnered in coalition with Meta. Berisha was banned from entering the US several years ago for alleged corruption.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
