As Albania prepares for the Parliamentary Elections, to be held on May 11, 2025, the Albanian media freedom organizations and civil society organizations, call on political parties, their leaders, and candidates to respect and support the principles of media freedom, transparency, and accountability before and during the election campaign, Albanian media have called in an open letter.

In line with our oversight function of the process, we call on political parties to: ensure full access for journalists to election activities; avoid using ready-made materials without full transparency; avoid any form of favoritism or discrimination that undermines pluralism and public debate; accept public debates and confrontations between candidates; respect the independence and editorial freedom of media and journalists; and ensure transparency in communications.

"We also call on the media to maintain the highest standards of ethics and integrity during their coverage of the election campaign, providing accurate, impartial and verified information.

Transparency, media freedom and equal access to information are essential pillars of a fair and democratic electoral process. It is important to respect the monitoring reports from civil society and cooperation initiatives between the media and civil society as an opportunity to strengthen the integrity of elections and increase public trust.

Journalists must be able to cover the campaign without any hindrance, ensuring that citizens are fully and impartially informed to make an informed decision on May 11th.

Political parties bear a special responsibility to guarantee a transparent and inclusive electoral process, creating the safe conditions for journalism to fulfill its essential role in protecting and strengthening democracy.

We will regularly monitor the process and inform the public and interested stakeholders about developments in this regard before and during the electoral campaign," the statement said.