About the Integrity of Parliamentary Election, 11 May, 2025, in Albania

Abstract

For the assessment of the integrity of elections, in the last ten years in Albania, in addition to traditional methods, the Perception Electoral Index (PEI) has been increasingly used as a quantitative measuring instrument. The values of this Index for the parliamentary elections, 2021 (PEI2021=57.7), the local elections, 2023 (PEI2023=53.3) and the parliamentary elections, 2025 (PEI2025=44.9), show that Albania continues to be classified in the group of countries where the challenge of organizing and conducting democratic elections that must meet international standards and OSCE commitments is present. In the decrease of about 22 percentage points in the value of PEI2021 vs PEI2025, the indicators with the greatest negative effect are “Campaign finance” (49.3 vs 35.7 points), “Media” (54.3 vs 31.0 points), “Results” (56.5 vs 35.5 points). The failure to carry out electoral reform to reflect in the electoral legislation the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and Albanian civil society have reduced perceptions of the positive effects of the legislation (54.2 vs 39.2 points). In the absence of changes in the electoral map, the “Boundaries” indicator continues to be perceived at a “Very low” level. The value of PEI2025 positions Albania in the group of countries with a “Low” level in election integrity.