Opposition wants electoral and judicial reforms ahead of NATO meeting

TIRANA, Jan. 30 – Six months after the establishment of the ad hoc parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform and two months ahead of the NATO Summit, the electoral reform is at standstill, opposition Socialist Party co-chair of the ad hoc committee Kastriot Islami said in an interview with Koha Jon뮠
He was optimistic , however, about the possibility to find the usual last-minute solution.
Electoral shortcomings have been a continuous problem in post-communist Albania. Taking elections to international standards are a top priority to the country that hopes to become a NATO member this spring and in the future into the European Union.
Islami blamed the majority for dragging out the process, arguing that the Socialist Party has already presented its package of proposals.
He presentenced the opposition’s requests: 1) No voting without identity cards; 2) No voting without voter lists based on the electronic civil registry; 3) No systems that favor the Dushk phenomenon; 4) No systems allowing for the arrangement of the candidate lists after elections; 5) Threshold no lower than 2.5 percent.
It is believed that the opposition Socialists will propose the beginning of March as the deadline for the finalization of the electoral reform, or they may withdraw from all engagements undertaken so far and likely not wanting to become part and responsible for the failure to get the invitation to join the NATO in April. The Socialist Party also presented a draft National Pact on Justice to be signed by all parliamentary parties.
Leader Edi Rama said the Pact was a guarantee for the people and international partners that the opposition-majority co-operation on judiciary reform is not just a tactical move to receive the invitation to join the NATO in April and neither a sporadic demonstration of good will, but a new awareness regarding the politics’ mission.
He urged all parliamentary parties to read and contribute to the Pact that he called a strategic guide on judicial reform, which in itself is not a matter of weeks and months, but a matter of years.
Some of the issues addressed in the Pact are the reformation of the judiciary, prosecutor’s office, financing of the justice system, settlement of alternatives and disagreements, relations between the judiciary and European courts and education in laws.
The Pact was submitted to the parliamentary legal committee.
They also handed a short-term plan which foresees clear deadlines – the latest being March 10 – to solve some of the issues of the judicial reform.