TIRANA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian elections took place in the context of a long-standing and deep political division between the Socialist Party of the ruling coalition and the opposition Democratic Party, as well as low public trust in the electoral process, observers said Monday in a press statement.
"Concerns were noted about possible intimidation by groups of party activists. Counting procedures were not always followed, and transparency was not guaranteed," said representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR International Observing Mission on the elections.
Head of the delegation from the European Parliament, MEP Eduard Kukan, told reporters that he hoped the elections would create a positive political atmosphere that would enable the government to make progress in implementing the reforms needed to move further towards the EU accession process.
"EU supports the request of Albania towards EU integration upon condition of complying with requirements," Kukan said.
Roberto Battelli, special coordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) mission said that observers had been monitoring the election process on Sunday and would continue to oversee the ongoing counting process.
The EU observing mission is a joint initiative of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, European Council Parliamentary Assembly, and European Parliament on elections. The International Observing Mission is composed of 330 observers from 43 countries.
