Freedom House: Democracy improved last year, but Albania faces authoritarian dangers

Freedom House continues to classify Albania as a country in transition and with a hybrid regime regarding the level of democracy.

But the country has seen a slight improvement in the index of democracy, which is also the basis of the report, from 4.14 points a year ago, to 4.11 points this year, to a score of 1 to 7, with 1 referring to the best performance and the 7 to the worst one.

This is thanks to a more peaceful electoral campaign than usual, during the 2017 election, the report reads, while all other indicators did not move compared to a year earlier.

Positive tones, meanwhile, are also reserved for the government’s efforts to fight corruption in public administration, especially in the state police.

But meanwhile, mention is made of the case of the former Interior Minister involvement in a scandal and the election of the General Prosecutor with only the votes of the majority.

Regarding corruption, Freedom House says the government’s fight is more focused on the administration, leaving behind corruption in politics and in co-operation between private and public, such as state capture.

Also in terms of the judiciary there have been many criticisms, both in terms of corruption and lack of efficiency, as well as in terms of delays in the creation of new justice bodies.

As far as projections for 2018 are concerned, Freedom House appreciates the improvement of governance and the possibility of deep reforms, but it does not forget to mention the growing tendencies of authoritarianism.

SCAN                         

*Material i përgatitur nga portali SCAN. Ripublikimi mund të bëhet vetëm kundrejt citimit të autorësisë dhe burimit origjinal.