Abstention, the real winner of the local elections
The high level of non-participation in the elections shows that people have not regained their faith in the institution of the free vote
These local elections were of particular importance, not because of who would emerge victorious or what the electorate’s leanings would be, but more than anything because they would be judged on how they were conducted: how much the rules of the game would be respected, whether there would be pressure or violations to favor the parties in power, and so on. In a word, these elections would serve as a test to see how capable Albanians were of moving on from the unpleasant experience of May 26. The truth is that the elections held the day before yesterday, despite some violations or acts of pressure at some polling stations, somewhat dispelled the image created five months earlier. Nevertheless, it must be said that the people did not fully have their say. This is evident from the relatively low turnout in these elections, regardless of the figures given by the DP and official propaganda. According to information received by the Tirana branch of the PR, figures from 80 polling stations showed that turnout in these areas ranged from 35 to 45 percent, and in some cases even 50 percent. Similar figures have also come from several other PR branches. Faced with such a tendency toward abstention, there are two possibilities. First, people have solved all their problems and, as a result, have not the slightest interest in political life, including in which political force takes power. Continued on p. 5