Elections During A Pandemic Time- The Case of Albania

Juliana Ajdini
University of Tirana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work and Social Policy- Tirana, Albania

Abstract

Patient 0 in Albania was diagnosed on March 9, 2020. From this moment the Albanian government imposed quarantine and many elements of social, economic and political life of the country changed. In 2021, when the pandemic and the restrictions that came from it continued, Albania held parliamentary elections. The purpose of this study is to assess how candidates approach voters by considering the pandemic situation along with the constraints it brought. The method used is the qualitative one through in-depth interviews with winning and non-winning candidates. The sampling used was snowball with a participation of 17 candidates, 11 winners and 6 non-winners. The study findings showed that the campaign took place mainly through social media, public meetings and door-to-door meetings. Fundamental freedom of association was respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, despite restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some participants said they had been fined for violating the rules, but this had not happened in their case. Facebook as a social platform was the most used by the candidates, targeting mainly young people who stay away from political engagement. In general the campaign was defined as faint for all participants.

Presentation