4.4. adopt, as a matter of priority and well before new elections take place, the required legislation to allow out-of-country voting for the sizable Albanian diaspora, in line with the judgment of the Constitutional Court of Albania.

5. The Assembly is concerned that the political polarisation in the country, compounded by inter and intraparty antics, is undermining the system of checks and balances and limiting parliamentary oversight. In thiscontext, it regrets that the parliament has not been able to find the required two-third majority to appoint a newOmbudsperson and a new Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination, whose terms of offices haveended, and has resorted to using anti-blocking mechanisms lowering the required majority for otherappointments, including for the election of the President of the Republic. The Assembly calls upon theopposition and ruling majority to ensure the proper functioning of the system of checks and balances,including an efficient and effective parliamentary oversight over the executive, and to respect each other’srightful role and place in the governance of the country. In addition, the Assembly urges the ruling majority andopposition to appoint, on the basis of a broad consensus, a new Ombudsperson and Commissioner for theProtection from Discrimination, which is essential for the democratic legitimacy of these important institutions.

6. The Assembly welcomes the successful completion of the territorial and administrative reform whichhas considerably reduced the number of municipalities and has strengthened the efficacity of local self-government and the provision of services to their citizens. It notes that adjustments to the territorialadministrative map, both to strengthen the efficiency of local self-government and to address some ofundesired effects of the reform, are being considered by the different political forces in Albania. It is importantthat any changes to the number of municipalities or the municipal borderlines should be based on a broadconsensus between the different stakeholders, while respecting the logic of the reform to create strong andeffective local government providing services that are close to the citizens.

7. In this context, the Assembly is concerned that the territorial and administrative reform has had a directimpact on the enjoyment of minority rights in Albania. A number of municipalities where minorities formed thelocal majority have been merged into larger municipalities where these minorities no longer form a majority, oreven a sizable segment, of the population. This is compounded by the fact that key minority rights, such asthe right to education in minority languages and the right to use minority languages in local governmentaffairs, are only granted at the local level when the minority population in question exceeds 20% of thepopulation in the municipality. This threshold is excessive and is only met in a very limited number ofmunicipalities with sizable minority populations. This should be remedied, in close consultation with theminorities concerned, including in the context of the consideration of possible adjustments to theadministrative territorial map.

8. The Assembly takes note of the findings in the report on Albania of the Congress of Local and RegionalAuthorities of the Council of Europe, adopted on 22 September 2021, including with regard to the allocation offunctions and responsibilities between central and local governments as well as the financial autonomy ofmunicipalities. It calls upon the Albanian authorities to fully address the concerns and recommendationscontained in this report.

9. The reform of the judiciary, with a view to assuring its genuine independence and the efficientadministration of justice, has been a long-standing priority for the Assembly within the monitoring procedurefor Albania. The Assembly therefore welcomes the considerable and tangible progress that has been made inthis regard by the Albanian authorities. The Assembly in particular welcomes the constitutional amendmentsof 2016 that allowed, in line with recommendations of the European Commission for Democracy through Law(Venice Commission), for the complete reorganisation of the High and Constitutional Courts and theestablishment of a High Council of Justice and a High Prosecutorial Council, as well as specialised judicialinstitutions to fight the endemic corruption in the country.

10. The constitutional amendments also allowed for the vetting, under international supervision, of alljudges and prosecutors in Albania. While being aware of the considerable, albeit temporary, impact of thisvetting procedure on the functioning of key judicial institutions in Albania, the Assembly considers the vettingprocedure to be a success. The very high number of judges and prosecutors that did not pass the vettingprocedure, more than 60% of all positions vetted, underscores both the importance and the necessity of thisvetting process.

11. The Assembly welcomes the establishment of a new judicial map, in close consultation with the Councilof Europe and European Union, with a view to increasing the quality and efficiency of the justice system andto address the considerable backlog of cases that are before the courts. The judicial map will be evaluated

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