A survey by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) found that Albanian citizens are widely disappointed at and distrustful of political parties. According to the study, citizens think that lawmakers know little about their concerns and that the electoral system needs to be reformed.

Most respondents are dissatisfied with the current functioning of Albanian democracy and openly express disappointment with political parties. This is one of the main findings in the recently national poll “Albania in Parliament,” by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation.

According to the survey, over 60 percent of citizens stated that they are little and not at all satisfied with the way democracy is currently functioning in Albania, and that they consider political parties as the least credible institutions in the country.

“Citizens are dissatisfied with the political system in general, something which is being reconfirmed again, as it has been present in previous studies also. They are disappointed at both the political processes and the actors that dominate these processes, i.e. government, opposition, and so on,” said Gjergj Vurmo, main author of the survey.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents do not believe that parliament is up to the task. Although participating in the elections, they expressed a low interest in politics, but showed a high interest that all draft laws should be consulted with citizens and stakeholders, regardless of the costs and duration of the process.

Moreover, skeptical of MPs and politicians in general, citizens expressed low trust in the current electoral system, which they deemed does not fully reflect their will.

The survey also found that the majority of citizens are open to exchanging different opinions and views on political issues, but less than half of them are open to changing aspects of personal political beliefs.