Οι σχετικές εκθέσεις του Οργανισμού για την Ασφάλεια και τη Σταθερότητα στην Ευρώπη, με αφορμή τις τοπικές εκλογές στη Χιμάρα το 2000, 2003 και 2007.
τα λένε όλα!!!!
...Εθνικιστική ρητορική και δράση των αλβανικών κομμάτων και των ΜΜΕ εναντίον της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας της Χιμάρας.
...Αρπαγή καλπών με την ανοχή της αστυνομίας
...Ξυλοδαρμοί
...Εκρήξεις Βομβών
...Διορισμοί νικητών
Ή.. με άλλα λόγια... Αδιάσειστα στοιχεία για τον αλβανικό εθνικισμό που έχουμε απέναντί μας!!!
REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
1/15 October 2000
OSCE/ODIHR Final Reporthttp://www.osce.org/item/1347.htmlIn Himara, the end of the campaign was
marred by nationalist rhetoric in relation to the Greek speaking community, reported at length in the local and national media even on election day, in an environment of increased tension with a neighboring country. On second round election day, the situation was marked in this constituency by some serious irregularities, which to this date have not been sufficiently addressed by the CEC.
On 2 and 16 October, the EOM issued statements of preliminary findings and conclusions. The EOM closed on 20 October, although two core team members remained in country for another week to follow-up a number of complaints, including those in the municipality of Himara.
In Himara, an
unusual coalition, coined “Alliance of the Nation” comprising all other political forces, including the DP, supported the SP candidate and resorted to inflammatory speeches in its campaign against the candidate of the Union for Human Rights Party (UHRP). As a result, the last days of the campaign were marred by inflammatory speeches and nationalistic rhetoric.
HIMARA CASE
After the first round, the candidate of the Union for Human Rights Party (UHRP) notified the EOM that
the SP and DP chairs of the Qeparo voting centre, constituency of Himara, disappeared with the ballot box after the vote count and fixed the protocols in order to force a second round. On 4 October, the Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Greece issued a statement complaining of widespread violations against the Greek-speaking minority during the first round. No evidence of such widespread fraud was uncovered by the EOM at that stage, although blocks of identical signatures in the voter lists were observed in one voting centre after the second round election.
In the run up to the second round, high-level SP representatives actively campaigned in Himara and the Prime Minister visited the municipality two days before polling. More importantly, leading politicians resorted to nationalist rhetoric and inflammatory language.
In contrast, the UHRP ran a low-key campaign and did not resort to any such language.
Though the campaign of the “Alliance for the Nation” was widely covered in the national media, local party representatives in Himara confirmed that the Alliance was not a local initiative and that despite the DP mayor’s personal declaration of support for the SP candidate, there had been no joint campaign.On the eve of the election, tension in Himara was exacerbated when 13 buses with approximately 500 Albanian emigrants coming from Greece were stopped at the border for lack of proper vehicle documentation to enter Albania. After discussion, the emigrants were let through and picked up on the other side of the border by Albanian busses and escorted by the police and two Members of the Hellenic Parliament. In addition, two UHRP representatives were detained for two hours on the eve of the second round, and emigrants were taken to the police station for questioning about their military obligations.
Accusations of Greek interference in Albanian internal affairs surfaced on 14 and 15 October, following the arrival in Himara of 10 Members of the Hellenic Parliament and four staff.9 The SP and the CEC issued official statements of protest against Greek interference and violation of the Electoral Code, which specifically prohibits foreigners from campaigning or from entering polling stations unless duly accredited. In a letter addressed also to the OSCE, the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament refuted these accusations and stressed that the presence of 10 independent MPs did not constitute an official representation of the Hellenic Parliament.
Throughout the election day, the EOM received information from observers deployed in Himara on behalf of a number of organisations, including the Council of Europe, OSCE Presence, Embassy of the United States and European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM). They reported that Greek parliamentarians were seen addressing voters in front of voting centres and in the presence of journalists. The Electoral Code prohibits any campaign activity within 150 meters from voting centres and on election day. It is, however, difficult to distinguish between campaigning and the usual visits of foreign dignitaries and Members of Parliament (MPs) on election day. Observers did not indicate that the MPs had held any public rally or entered any voting centre. With the exception of three members of one voting centre, who stated that two Greek MPs entered the voting centre for a few minutes, all other interlocutors also stressed that the MPs had not entered any voting centre. On election day, the EOM also visited the voting centre in Dhermi (Himara), where a dispute between commission members broke out and the UHRP member destroyed the ballot box in an attempt to prevent a voter from casting a ballot.10 One person was armed with a gun. The box was subsequently thrown out of the window, collected, replaced with a new ballot box provided by the LGEC and polling resumed. Observers noted that many ballots were not folded and all marked in favour of the SP candidate. Others reported that the voter lists contained blocks of identical signatures in the same handwriting. A number of UHRP commission members indicated to observers that they had been intimidated and asked to leave the voting centres.
During the counting of votes, observers in two voting centres reported seeing a number of ballot papers still attached to each other at the stub, indicating that irregular voting had taken place. In Himara, the total of 4,634 votes cast in the second round was higher than the 3,440 cast in the first round, leading the UHRP to claim that this was evidence of manipulation. Moreover, VCCs in Himara did not receive sufficient numbers of protocols, making it impossible for party representatives on the commissions to receive copies and adequate documentation in support of their complaints. In addition, in Himara, voting centre members, and even chairpersons, were changed without reason by the LGEC a day before the second round, in clear violation of the law.
However, it seems that UHRP members left the voting centres before the count.
On 19 October, the CEC decided not to uphold the UHRP complaint to invalidate elections in Himara, on the grounds that the results of the contested voting centres could not impact the overall outcome. On the same day, Vasil Melo, UHRP chairman, indicated that they would not lodge a complaint in court due to the UHRP being part of the ruling coalition.
In view of the above, the EOM continued to monitor the situation in Himara after the second round and concluded that no effective measures to address the irregularities had been taken by the CEC.
REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
12 October 2003 - 25 January 2004
OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission
Final Reporthttp://www.osce.org/item/2378.htmlViolent incidents occurred in Himara where election-related disturbances included the detonation of an explosive device at a voting centre, resulting in minor injuries to a policeman.
There were widespread violations and conflict in voting centers in Himara including proxy and multiple voting and ballot stuffing. In some Himara voting centers, unauthorized persons were involved in directing the process and in one voting centre police were present without the required identification.
Although police witnessed a stabbing incident outside a voting centre in Himara village, they took no action to apprehend the assailant.
The vote count and tabulation in Himara was tense and marked by violent incidents and blatant fraud. Without examining the original protocols in ballot boxes, the SP-led LGEC declared the SP the winner. Based on a complaint by the Human Rights Union Party (HRUP), the Central Election Commission decided to open the ballot boxes and re-examine the ballots, ultimately declaring the HRUP the winner
REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
LOCAL ELECTIONS
18 February 2007
OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Reporthttp://www.osce.org/item/24859.htmlIn Himarë, one VCC appeared to be deliberately invalidating ballots by handing them to voters with the stub attached, by signing them, or by not stamping them properly. Observers reported the process as problematic in other VCs in Himarë.
In Himarë municipality (Vlorë region), disputes between the candidates of the Democratic Party and the Human Rights Union Party, over alleged voting irregularities and the composition of counting teams, hampered the counting process from the very start. Counting was conducted in a tense atmosphere and was repeatedly stalled. On 20 February, the CEC ordered the LGEC to finish the count and sent inspectors to help resolve problems. Staff representatives from the Vlorë Prosecutor’s Office were also sent to Himarë. On Thursday 21 February, the count in Himarë was eventually concluded.