Tirana, July 5 (AENews) – Final election results are not yet published due to continued counting of votes in over a dozen counting centers around the country. Latest published results by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) give a fair advantage to the opposition over the government in most parts of the country, which has around 70% of total votes in the capital Tirana.

If after the counting of the last votes the opposition wins, which is very likely, then this will be not only in accordance with many opinion polls as well as exit polls conducted during this entire process, but most importantly a confirmation of the peoples will.

This entire elections process has not been so easy, nor has it been without small incidents or 100% in compliance with international standards, as the latest OSCE/ODIR preliminary findings and conclusions explain, but it has been a decisive step forward in the overall elections process and further in Albania’s efforts to comply with international standards out of its commitment to democracy and integration.

Political will, or lack thereof, is still a major determining factor for how things have been going in Albania. However, during these parliamentary elections international pressure has been high and all major parties as well as politicians and the media have tried to be compliant in their differing and often pale attempts to fulfill international requirements.

Albania has still a long way to go and many things are still far away from full compliance with international standards. All our hopes are that this continuing process will in the end be satisfactory to all those Albanians who daily have to face the many difficulties of this endless struggle to attain better living conditions and a greater assurance of future aspirations for integration and community.

By: Elvis Plaku, AENews

Posted by on Jul 5 2005. Filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry