In the Republic of Albania, the next local elections are scheduled to take place on 14 May 2023
The local elections are a kind of an opportunity for the citizens of Albania to choose whether they wish to have a drug cartel rule the country and/or a parliamentary republic- of which the citizens have been predominantly robbed and deprived over the past 10 years.
Forty-eight political parties with 23,788 candidates will participate at the local elections. The elections will be monitored by 324 international observers of the OSCE/ODIHR.
With the fall of Enver Hoxha's communist regime in 1991, the retrograde forces were defeated. However, after the arrival of Edi Rama and his Socialist Party (SP), whose roots go back to the former communist party of Albania, to power these forces were revitalized.
An inevitable question for Edi Rama is why is Albania still by far the poorest country in Europe, although it has exceptional potential for development? Both the EU and NATO failed with respect to resolution of the political crisis in Albania. However, the crisis in Albania has exposed Edi Rama's corruption network, which includes some (former) senior officials of the EU, US and some other countries.
Revenues from drug businesses exceed the Albanian national budget
Iinstead of pursuing reforms, development and further democratization of the country Edi Rama initiated the process of "cannabization of Albania." A significant part of arable land is planted with cannabis, while the drug business is control by politico-criminal structures.
A mitigating circumstance for the criminal structures is the visa-free regime that Albania has with EU member countries, which allows criminals free movements and business operations, as well as enormous profits from drug and human trafficking.
The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report identifies Albania as the source of cannabis and home base for organized criminal groups that illegally trade in drugs from the source country to the European markets.
Albanian cannabis is distributed to Turkey and exchanged for heroin and cocaine, which Albanian citizens smuggle throughout Europe. Albanian citizens were arrested in Greece, Italy, Spain and Holland.
Albanian citizens play a significant role in the international and organized criminal network engaged in drug trafficking.
Furthermore, Albania is a key element of the Balkans route for drug trafficking towards Western Europe and Great Britain.
Albanian organized criminal groups are present in the US, Great Britain and throughout Europe, as well as in South America, including Ecuador, Columbia and Peru.
They have established an integrated procurement, transport, distribution and sale chain in Europe, Great Britain and the US. Albanian organized criminal groups continue to conduct money laundering in Albania, thus contributing to corruption in the country.
In Albania violent crime is often associated with organized crime, but also with judges, prosecutors, police and media, who are often subject to intimidation. The relatively weak rule of law, corruption and high unemployment level are the main Albanian problems with respect to control of drug trafficking.
Criminal justice reforms in Albania should include removal of judges and prosecutors connected with organized crime and/or with unjustifiable wealth.
Fight against cyber-crime, human trafficking and money laundering remain areas in which additional results are required. An indicator of the situation in Albania is also an increased number of Albanian citizens who have filed asylum requests in EU member countries.
The International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyzes developments in the Middle East, the Balkans and around the world. IFIMES made an analysis of the current political situation in the Republic of Albania in the context of the local elections, scheduled to take place on 14 May 2023.