EU Delegation in Albania denies Berisha’s claims of meddling in OSCE/ODIHR election report
The European Union Delegation in Tirana has categorically denied claims made by opposition leader Sali Berisha and his affiliated media outlet Syri.net, which alleged that EU Ambassador Silvio Gonzato intervened in the OSCE/ODIHR interim report on Albania’s May 11 parliamentary elections to omit problematic content.
Why this is important: The accusations come amid a tense post-election climate, with Berisha and his Democratic Party refusing to recognize the results after a historic defeat. The claims, widely circulated by Syri.net, suggested EU involvement in shielding alleged electoral irregularities.
Context: In its statement, the EU Delegation emphasized its longstanding policy of non-interference in Albania’s democratic processes. It also underlined that it seeks to preserve public trust in international monitoring bodies such as OSCE/ODIHR.
“Claims that the EU Ambassador intervened to remove names from the OSCE/ODIHR interim report article, repeated in an article published today by Syri.net, are false.”
It reiterated that:
“The European Union does not interfere in, nor seek to influence, Albania’s democratic processes.”
The OSCE/ODIHR election reports are compiled independently and based solely on verifiable findings from international observer teams. The EU also warned against the spread of disinformation, stating:
“Disinformation can undermine public confidence in democratic processes.”
What else: This is not the first time the EU has been forced to respond to allegations from Berisha’s camp. On May 1, the Delegation issued a similar denial after Syri.net reported that Ambassador Gonzato had influenced the OSCE/ODIHR pre-election report by removing references to individuals allegedly involved in electoral crime.
Berisha, who has rejected the election results and announced plans for a protest on May 16, has escalated his rhetoric against both international observers and the Albanian government, despite broad consensus among monitors that the elections were conducted transparently and without systemic fraud.
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