Referendums – Analysis and Assessment of the Albanian Legislation

Abstract

The legislative framework and the use of referenda, as an instrument of the direct democracy expression, in the Albanian experience are very scarce. The actual legal framework for the referendum is part of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania, approved in 2003. It contains provisions that contradict the Constitution or that need to be better clarified. The necessity to revisit this law is current. The new legal framework on referendum should address issues related to definition of types of referenda. It should clarify and fulfill the provisions on how to call and hold a referendum, to campaign and propaganda, access to the media, the rights and obligations of the parties interested in the outcome of the referendum, sources of financing and transparency in their use, the rights and obligations of the institutions that will administer the process etc…