History has shown that corruption and post-communist countries are a match made in heaven. Starting in the 1990s, many oligarchs from Eastern Europe managed to go from rags to riches by using corruption as their spear.
In time however, many countries such as Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic States, alarmed by the onerous costs that corruption was levying on them, have managed to gradually heal themselves from the disease.
Remarkably, countries such as Estonia have even managed to land themselves on the top twenty of the least corrupt countries in the world, a feat that even global powerhouses such as the United States have not managed to achieve.
Yet, there are many post-communist countries that have not managed to keep up with Estonia. Albania is one such country. For more than three decades, corruption in Albania has been raging rampant. Even though a considerable amount of effort has been put toward addressing such a phenomenon, the country has not been making any palpable progress whatsoever. As a matter of fact, Albania has become increasingly more corrupt in recent years. As of today, Albania is the 104th least corrupt country in the world, and it has dropped a total of 23 places in the last three years.
Granted, past and present governments have indeed tried to combat corruption, albeit at a snail’s pace. The Rama Administration has been especially vocal when it comes to corruption-related matters. The creation of the newly-established Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) is for instance a major milestone in Albania’s battle against corruption.
Nevertheless, with exception to the establishment of SPAK, the government has been mostly a paper tiger when it comes to fighting corruption. That is because, despite a significant amount of reforms, the country is still riddled with corruption.
Therefore, given the increasing impact of corruption in all spheres of the Albanian society, it is paramount that the current government puts additional emphasis on devising policies that will effectively address this disease.
Increasing Accountability
The Parliament of Albania is a magnificent manifestation of the democratic ethos of the Albanian society, and it is the duty of every government to keep it that way.
One way the majority can significantly increase accountability in the Albanian Parliament, and ultimately combat corruption, would be to create a database that grants all private citizens broad access to information related to the MP that is representing them.
When accessing that database, citizens would be able to see which MP is representing them, what legislation that MP has put forward, the voting history of that MP, and more.
Such databases exist in almost all developed countries, because they promote transparency by putting MPs under intense public scrutiny. One example of such databases is the Open Books database, which reports on the members of the U.S. congress and U.S. Senate.
It does not end there though. The creation of this database would be only the first step toward the creation of a more accountable Parliament. What would be arguably one of the most beneficial weapons against corruption in the Albanian Parliament is the enshrinement of the Right to Recall in the Albanian Constitution.
How does the right to recall work? In a nutshell, the right to recall can be defined as the right of constituents to oust elected officials before their official terms have come to an end. This instrument was first introduced in the United States, and it has been used numerous times to great success.
The actual instrument of recall is oftentimes a letter of resignation signed by the elected representative before taking office. That letter can then be evoked by a quorum of constituents (usually 12% of the votes cast in the last election) if the representative fails to meet the demand of those who elected him or her.
One famous example of the right to recall is the 2003 election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Governor of California, who replaced Gov. Gray Davis who was relieved from office in a recall election.
Introducing the right to recall in Albania would without a doubt make elected officials feel more pressured to serve the interests of their constituents, than their own purse.
Establishing a National Agency on Corruption Prevention
Currently, there are two main institutions that deal with corruption-related matters in Albania: the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) and the Ombudsman Office.
They have been relatively successful in their respective domains, however they do not really deal with the most widespread type of corruption in Albania, which is petty corruption.
SPAK deals with organized crime and corruption at the highest level of governance, whereas the Ombudsman Office mainly deals with human rights infringements (if you have a complaint, you can complain by clicking here).
Neither of these institutions deals with petty corruption. That is the reason why an independent entity, responsible for dealing with petty corruption, ought to be established in Albania.
To sweeten the deal, the Albanian government can also collaborate with other foreign governments, or the EU, and charge foreign representatives to head this institution. This way, it would be truly independent and free of any bias.
What is more, the partnership could also bring a lot of funding and expertise. Indeed, international partnerships of this nature boast very positive track records. For instance, in 2006, Guatemala signed an agreement with the UN to create the Commission against Impunity CICIG. Many experts argue that the creation of this partnership has been one of the most important steps that Guatemala has ever taken to combat corruption. That is because CICIG helped secure hundreds of convictions and even helped unseat then-President Otto Pérez Molina.
Making Referendums More Frequent
Referendums are unquestionably a cornerstone of democracy. However, referendums are incredibly rare in Albania. As a matter of fact, no referendum has been held in Albania since the year 1998. In developed countries like Switzerland, 2 referendums were held only in May, 2019.
One would think that the abysmally low frequency of referendums in Albania would be a cause of concern for its government. In reality, past and current governments have succeeded in making it impossible for the Albanian people to hold a referendum. That is because, shockingly, there is no institution or government agency that is responsible for validating the signatures of a referendum.
Article 150, article 151, and article 152 of the constitution talk about the procedural process of referendums in Albania, but none of them mentions how signatures are to be validated. That is the reason why many activists failed to hold a referendum to make the Vjosa River a national park.
That has to change. An institution responsible for validating referendum signatures has to be established, and fast.
It is clear as daylight that corruption is deeply embedded in almost every domain of life of the Albanian society, and it is not going away any time soon. However, that does not mean that it is never going away. There is a lot that can be done to make things better. Putting pretty legislation into practice would be a good start.
