Friday, March 01, 2024

Improving transparency on the electoral reform and encouraging the engagement of young people and civil society in electoral issues were the focus of the forum organized with students and lecturers of the Faculty of Economics at Fan Noli University in Korça. This is the first of a cycle of civic forums that will be held by the Academy of Political Studies and the Institute of Political Studies following the submission of recommendations to the Special Commission for Electoral Reform at the Parliament of Albania.

Some of the issues discussed during the meeting were:

• What do citizens / student youth expect from the new electoral reform?
• How can citizens influence the parliamentary debate on electoral reform?
• How represented and satisfied are young people with elected officials?
• How much information do young people have about the electoral system and which one do they prefer?
• What is the perception of the diaspora vote and its role?
• How should professional and reliable election administration be achieved?
• What is the role of political parties, CEC and other institutions in electoral processes?
• How can vote trafficking and abuse of state resources be prevented?
• What are your personal experiences with elections and voting?

In addition to the greeting and evaluations from Reinout Vos (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Ledina Alolli (dean of FE, on behalf of the University), experts Erjon Tase (Academy of Political Studies) and Afrim Krasniqi (Institute of Political Studies) contributed to the discussion. The event, moderated by the senor media expert Lufti Dervishi, encouraged constructive discussions and an active conversation with university students and lecturers.

During the debate, it was emphasized that election standards are essential elements for the implementation of criteria on representative democracy and the rule of law, an important challenge and priority for Albania in the process of negotiations for EU membership. Educated and informed voters, independent and free, active in participation and seeking accountability, promoters and defenders of constitutional rights, constitute the vital basis of electoral processes with high integrity and functional democracy.

The activity was part of the commitments of the Institute for Political Studies and the Academy of Political Studies within the project "Strong partnerships for sustainable reforms - Strengthening the role of civil society in addressing the challenges of free and fair elections ”, financially supported by the MATRA program / Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania.