The Council of Europe has announced it will carry out a remote mission to observe the upcoming mayoral by-elections in Albania, scheduled for 6 March.
In a press release sent today, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities noted that Gunn-Marit Helgesen, the rapporteur and representative of Congress on the Venice Commission’s Council for Democratic Elections will carry out the mission between 24 and 25 of February.
According to the agenda, the delegation which will include representatives from the UK, Slovenia, Denmark and an independent expert on the European Charter of Local Self-Government and will hold online briefings with a variety of stakeholders.
These include representatives of the international community in Tirana, the Chair of the Central Election Committee Ilirjan Celibashi, and with local government associations.
Additional briefings are also planned with NGOs, media, and political representatives.
The statement notes that upon request of the competent authorities, the Congress observes local and regional elections in Council of Europe member States and sometimes beyond.
The observation of local elections is complementary to the political monitoring process of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which is the cornerstone of local democracy in Europe.
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