The analysis of internal democracy in Albanian political parties consists of two parts. The fi rst part starts with the description of the concepts of internal democracy; continues with a historical perspective of the birth and development of democratic pluralism and political parties in Albania. The period studied starts in 1920 and ends in September 2014. The second part starts with an analysis of statutory mechanisms that guarantee the rights and responsibilities of party members that affect or guarantee their freedom of expression and activity; includes an analysis of the relationship between members and the highest internal structures with superior structures and especially-in the party leadership; assesses the role and relationship of political party structures in relationship with each other and within the statutory pyramid; and pays special attention to the mechanisms that defi ne the space for free and fair competition based on merit, and in particular, the existence, role and function of the statutory situation of complaint institutions.......

Gender equality is widely accepted by political and institutional actors in Albania and is prominently anchored in the country’s legal framework in line with Albania’s international obligations1 and its efforts towards EU Acquis approximation. Achieving full gender equality at the national level is a human rights issue, closely linked to rule of law and nondiscrimination in society. Equal representation in Albania’s political party system is concurrent with the country’s democratic standards, the constitutional obligations and state responsibilities to fight gender-based discrimination, the specific features of the Albanian political system, and the legislation on elections and on political parties. Achieving equal representation plays a key role in mitigating Albania’s challenges also in the framework of EU accession. Women’s representation in parliament, government, and local government has increased considerably nationwide after the application of the gender quota in 2013 and 2015. Although the growth curve is reflected across the country, there is a noticeable difference between the regions and among competing political entities. Equal representation in party structures is associated with the introduction and enforcement of gender quotas. Despite positive trends and promises by the political parties in this regard, women’s representation in party decision-making bodies remains low. The main obstacles to the present representation gap are linked to the patriarchal culture that prevails in the society and the political class of the country, and to the weak voice of women in the media and civil society, which has not yet been able to maximize its chances to promote gender equality. However, the existence of positive models of women politicians in social, political and media that effectively promote women in politics and decision-making shows that further investment in promoting gender equality and equal political representation is needed to achieve sustainability and success.

Monitoring the activity of the parliament is a democratic requirement and is expected by the public, as it leads to an increased transparency and public confidence, it helps to increase the efficiency of MPs / Parliament, encourages debate, increases the attention towards our representative system and helps us to create a clear vision on the need and aspects to be improved in the constitution/law/regulations. The active monitoring of current Parliament takes into account some specific features of high public and institutional interest, such as tests about the political maturity and functional democracy in Albania:

§  The parliament, in our political system, remains the main institution for controlling and deciding over all other constitutional institutions (president, government, judicial institutions, etc.). The parliament is the main political actor and the public expects a parliament "closer to the citizens".

§  The parliament will elect the new constitutional institutions in the justice sector, and will choose the new government, the new management structure and a series of constitutional institutions

§  It will face the challenge of de-criminalization, which remains one of the main political and electoral objects of discussion, especially when the new parliament will be elected.

The Albanian Assembly approved in December of 2015 the Law No. 138/2015 “On ensuring the integrity of persons elected, appointed, or holding public functions”, also known as the decriminalization law. The Albanian law is a unique model in the continent and is related to the political context of the 2011-2015 period. In efforts to promote the political rotation of the main political parties or to break down well-known strongholds of the right wing, the former opposition of the 2011-2013 period, promoted candidates with unclearcriminal records during the local and parliamentary elections of the time. They were considered as the only opportunities to ensure number of votes and to affect the new political rotation. As a result, a number of members of parliament and of local political officials with past criminal records, mainly amongst the new majority after the 2013 elections, ran and won leading posts in municipalities, regions, government, high and mid-level positions in the public administration and institutions, and even parliament. These individuals secured their political mandates mainly through undemocratic competition methods, such as threats, blackmail, scare tactics, vote buying, conflict of interest, and other negative practices. Their presence in the political and public life damaged the election and representation system and led to many incidents, including physical altercations in parliament and harsher language towards political critics and the media. The introduction and political promotion of individuals with criminal records in institutions and in the administration considerably impacted the fall of public trust in the representing institutions and functional democracy, the rise of corruption and public disappointment, the loss of confidence that the country could undertake fundamental reforms and that it could make progress in the integration process. The political parties were also impacted by the phenomenon, which led to the weakening of inner functional and decision-making bodies, the threatening of internal democracy statute principles, and the increasing of individuals treating politics as their own, while having no political identity and using politics and the representation mandate as a personal protection tool and economic profit resource. These were the reasons that turned the political attention and brought the political elite to face the decriminalization debate.