Prime Minister Rama has reacted after the release of the Freedom House report.
In his Facebook post, Rama says that despite what is said, ” Albania is the country with the most positive idea of democratic freedom in the Western Balkans. ”
But the Albanian Prime Minister admits that there is a drop in points compared to past years.
In a rating system of 1 to 7 — where 1 shows the highest level of democracy and 7 the lowest level, Freedom House has rated Albania with 3.82 points compared to 3.89 points a year ago and continues to be a hybrid regime.
Albania is poorly rated for its justice system and independence (3.25 points) and corruption (2.75 points). It also got lower results than a year ago for democratic governance (3.25 points) and media independence (3.75 points).
In the region, Albania ranks lower than Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. While the average for Europe is 5.4, significantly higher than that of Albania.
Many of the countries in the Balkans, including Albania, have declined compared to last year.
Freedom House noted increase attacks on the independence of the judiciary, threats against civil society and the media, manipulation of electoral frameworks and the emptying of parliaments that “no longer fulfill their role as centers of political debate and executive oversight”.
Freedom House writes that these developments have contributed to a “stunning democratic division” in the countries involved in the report. This erosion has left citizens vulnerable to further abuse of the rights already associated with the COVID-19 pandemic./abcnews.al
