ELECTIONS or SOLUTION?!
For some time now, the opposition, speaking loudly, has been declaring that our country is heading toward an authoritarian regime, even calling it a dictatorship. This naturally raises the question of whether the establishment of a dictatorship in Albania, similar to the one that existed here some years ago, is possible. The question is not excessive if we take into account some wounds still unhealed from that dictatorship, as well as some remnants of it in institutions and in mentality. So what are the possibilities of such a return?
In fact, every society with fragile democracy is at risk of authoritarian drift. But in the case of Albania, the comparison with yesterday's dictatorship is exaggerated and inaccurate. The differences are essential: the pluralist system exists, the free press speaks, opposition parties operate, and elections remain the only mechanism for legitimizing power. This does not mean that problems are absent. On the contrary, political tension, polarization, the propagandistic use of institutions, and the inability to compromise have worsened the public climate.
In this sense, the question is not only “are we heading toward a regime?”, but also “how is democracy functioning?”. When elections turn into an instrument for deepening conflict rather than resolving it, then we have a crisis of representation. The opposition calls for elections as a way out, while the ruling power presents them as proof of its legitimacy. Yet elections, if not accompanied by political and institutional guarantees, can produce more distrust than stability.
A democracy is measured not only by the ballot box, but by the conditions under which the contest takes place, by the equality of the sides, by respect for the law, and by acceptance of the result. If these are lacking, then “elections” may sound like a “solution,” but in essence solve nothing. They may even serve as justification for an even deeper crisis.
For today’s Albania, the main challenge remains building trust. Without a minimum consensus on the rules of the game, each side will see defeat as theft and the other’s victory as usurpation. Then the real debate is not only semantic. It is political and moral: do we want elections as a ritual, or solutions through elections?