The OSCE declared these elections partially free, noting substantial progress in this election compared to previous ones. Normally I wouldn’t be so critical of those filing complaints about irregularities, but RFE/RL makes a solid point against the people doing it in this case.

Albania’s Central Election Commission agreed on 19 July to repeat the 3 July ballot in at least one district, but challenges by rival politicians continue to hold up the release of final election results, Reuters reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 1, 7, and 15 July 2005). A commission spokesman said that “the commission agreed in principle to ÄrepeatÅ the vote but…will wait until all other complaints have been considered to decide when to hold the vote.” The commission must conclude its investigation of about 200 complaints before it can announce the final results, which had been expected to take place later in July. The opposition Democrats appear to have won the ballot with at least 73 out of 140 seats, but the governing Socialists have made it clear that they intend to raise numerous challenges and are in no hurry to leave office. Post-communist Albanian elections have traditionally been marred by poor sportsmanship and frequent complaints of fraud, most of which prove to lack substance. The EU and NATO made it clear to Albanian leaders before the vote that their country’s progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration will depend heavily on whether or not the election is carried out responsibly.

In other words, the socialists are just dragging it out by making false claims that the commission has to investigate no matter what. That is not to say that irregularities did not occur, but it’s hard not to be skeptical when they have a reputation for calling empty shots.