Albanian Election Study 2009: Introduction
The 2009 Albanian Election Study is a non-partisan, independent, public opinion research program organized in cooperation with the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The program aims to study electoral dynamics and public opinion in the 2009 Albanian parliamentary elections. The 2009 Albanian Election Study aims to provide reliable, trustworthy, and scientific explanations of the parliamentary election results to Albanian political parties, media, civil society organizations, international community, political and social scientists, and all other interested parties.
Electoral dynamics in post communist Albania have been barely studied only. Election results have routinely been contested as unfair by Albanian political parties and civil society. Our project will produce a comprehensive study of electoral behavior in Albania. This will provide Albanian journalists, political commentators, political strategists, politicians and social scientists with an independent voice of the public in explaining how the public feels about the political parties, campaign issues, and the democratic process in Albania. Post-election surveys are special in that we can match our survey results against the manifested vote choice of the Albanian electorate and try to explain it.
Albanian Election Study also serves as the Albanian chapter of CSES. CSES is a program of election studies and surveys in over 50 countries, based on the model and experience of the American National Elections Study. CSES is a project run jointly by the Center for Political Studies of the University of Michigan, United States and GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Germany, with support from the American National Science Foundation, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, University of Michigan, and governments of several German Länder. The survey will take place immediately after the Albanian parliamentary elections of June 28, 2009, and the fieldwork will be completed within 15 days from the election day.