Friday, March 26, 2021

Over 25 journalists  participated  at the training on “On monitoring the  transparency of election campaign finances and misuse  of public resources” organised online in Tirana on 26 March 2021. This is a follow up event from the previous trainings organised  jointly by the project “Strengthening Elections’ Transparency in Albania” – SETA, funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Tirana and joint EU/CoE Action Against Economic Crime in Albania and implemented by the Academy of Political Studies in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections. In the context of this joint initiative, the training was co-organised with the OSCE Presence in Albania.

The training aimed at informing  the local journalists from the seven regions targeted  by the project SETA on implementation of  the Electoral Code provisions on funding and use of public resources in the electoral campaign and other legal requirements. The State Commissioner Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mrs. Guusje Korthals Altes, stressed the important role that the media have in ensuring the transparency of elections and their importance for the future of the country.

The OSCE expert, Mr. Florian Hobdari presented the latest changes to the Electoral Code pertaining not only to the political party financing and discussed with participants some of the issues raised in the implementation. Presentation and discussion with the head of the audit and monitoring sector at the CEC, Mrs. Valbona Ballgjini, was very valuable to identify the restrictions on the organization of the campaign.

As a follow up to this activity, participants will be invited to monitor the implementation of legal provisions by political candidates, local authorities and public entities. Up to seven best proposed articles will be financially supported and mentored by the media organisation "Faktoje", member of International Fact Checking Network, involving the best international fact-checking methodology in the process. These articles will be published in Faktoje and will be open to be published in the local media. From this activity it is expected an increased transparency  of political finance and it will also contribute to a better monitoring by supporting the Central Election Commission with information.