TIRANA – Albania’s democracy is in decline, according to the latest report of US- based democracy monitor Freedom House where this Balkan country is classified as partly free with a hybrid regime, a report by RFE/RL said on Wednesday.
In its latest report, Freedom House warns of a “stunning democratic breakdown” across Central Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia as many leaders in the region attempt to do away with any remaining checks on their power.
“A growing number of leaders in Central and Eastern Europe have dropped even the pretense that they play by the rules of democracy. They openly attack democratic institutions and are working to restrict individual freedoms,” the group says in its annual Nations In Transit report, released on May 6.
The report says the attacks on democratic institutions could be accelerated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz said the health crisis also creates an “inflection point” after which things could become much worse, or democracy could be revitalized.
The hope is that the experience of the epidemic “will illustrate the importance of transparent and accountable governance and catalyze new demands for change,” Abramowitz said.
Freedom House says that the number of democracies in the 29 countries covered in the report is at its lowest point ever at just 10. The overall democracy score for the region, an average of all the countries assessed, declined for the 16th year in a row.
The report says the slippage of democratic reforms is demonstrated through the manipulation of electoral frameworks that gives undue advantage to incumbents, parliaments that have been sidelined by opposition boycotts, and smear campaigns against independent media and civil society.
It also says the judiciary and the rule of law have become targets in many countries through such maneuvers as packing courts with loyalists and adopting restrictive laws that do away with judicial independence.
Albania a ‘hybrid regime’
When people dislike the direction an institution is moving in, they have two choices, according to economist Albert Hirschman: they can voice their concerns, or they can leave, said the report.
Increasingly, the second scenario is coming to pass in countries surveyed by Nations in Transit including Albania. In 2019, the opposition in 4 of the 29 countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia) surveyed, according to the report, boycotted parliament altogether, while a brief parliamentary boycott took place in a fifth country, Georgia, in early 2020. The underlying conditions for these walkouts can be observed more widely across the region, as ruling parties took steps to marginalize the opposition in Freedom House describes the situation of democracy in Albania as follows:
“The opposition demanded fresh elections after an investigation revealed that the governing Socialist Party had enlisted the help of organized crime networks in the 2017 vote that brought it to power. Undeterred, the Socialists have put off electoral reforms while working to stifle the country’s media and proceeding with plans to oust the president.” The report then details how the Opposition boycotted local elections but the Socialist Party “pressed ahead with local elections…leaving voters with no meaningful choice.”
Dropping from 3.89 to 3.82 in 2019 Albania is considered a ‘hybrid regime’. It received particularly bad scores for its judicial framework and independence (3.25) and corruption (2.75). It also got less than satisfactory results for national democratic governance (3.25), and independent media (3.75). In terms of its position among its Western Balkan neighbours, it was surpassed by Croatia (4.25), Montenegro (3.86), and Serbia (3.96). Its overall score of 3.82 is the median for the region. The median score for Central Europe is 5.4, falling to 1.39 in Eurasia.
President asks for response to dim situation
Deep concern has been expressed by President Ilir Meta in a comment on the latest report of Freedom House on Wednesday. According to him, the deterioration of indicators for the level of democracy, the decline in governance and the electoral process require a reflection and response from all.
“The deterioration of indicators for the level of democracy, the decline in governance and the electoral process requires a reflection and response from all,” he said. Meta highlighted the conclusion in the report which says: ‘From Tirana to Tbilisi, those in power are not interested in making parliament the place for discussion’ considering this as a strong bell of alarm.
The President thought that it was high time for an immediate resurgence and a new trajectory of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in order to meet the conditions set by the European Union as soon as possible with the aim of fully integrating Albania without any further delay. /argumentum.al
