Kristaq Kume, invited to “Debate” on “A2CNN” by Alba Alishani, discussed the May 14 elections and the issues that he believes must be addressed in order to have a model democratic process.
According to Kume, three major aspects in accomplishing this process are legislation, the will to apply it, and Albanian society’s behavior and culture regarding the right to vote.
Kume further stated that vote buying and family voting are issues that cannot be remedied just through legislative intervention.
How are we faring in the polls on May 14? Is it acceptable to state that we have an old problem that confronts us in this current process because of the absence of much-anticipated electoral reform?
An election process is the consequence of the action and interaction of numerous elements, three of which I would highlight:
Legislation and how it is applied.
Second, there must be the will and culture to put this legislation into effect.
The third aspect is general behavior and culture toward the right to vote.
Each of them operates individually and also together. Of these three groups of factors, the first one, which has to do with legislation, is monitorable and achievable as such. And it is the political class’s responsibility to do so on the eve of every election.
Because they function in time and place, the other two group-factors cannot be solved solely or mostly through regulatory laws. They run continually.
Vote buying cannot be remedied only through legislative intervention.
Legislation alone cannot control family voting. Nonetheless, it will continue to exist as a phenomenon since it takes numerous shapes.
What should have been done, and for which we have every right to criticize, is the lack of commitment on the part of political parties, the Albanian Parliament, and the Commission for Electoral Reform, which this country has established, to address the regulations that need to be made in legislation, in those regulations pertaining to the future electoral process.
And here, the use of the administration is also part of it.