Christian Democratic Politician Killed

TIRANA, June 18 – A right-wing politician of the Christian Demcoratic Party was killed Thursday in a car explosion, just 10 days before a general election.
Police said Aleksander Keka, a 34-year-old regional leader for the small conservative Christian Democratic Party, died in the blast while driving out of northern Koplik town.
Police spokesman Klodian Branko said the cause of the blast was not immediately known and experts were working.
Referring to witnesses, police said the vehicle was seen exploding while driving along at Grizhe village. Experts were working to identify the explosive device.
“For years Aleksander Keka was filed from local and central police as a person with significant criminal precedence about trafficking of drugs, vehicles and remote control explosive devices,“ said a police statement.
“That is a dirty slander. These are irresponsible statements showing that police have turned into a political tool and that they are involved in the crime,“ reacted Christian Democratic Party leader Nard Ndoka.
“It was a clear terrorist act with clear political inspiration,“ Ndoka said.
“It was a great shock that such a calm and friendly person with such a good reputation was punished by the criminals,” Ndoka said.
It was an explosive device which exploded the car with remote control, said Ndoka, who was waiting Keka to meet him in Shkodra.
Keka had been recently threatened or lured with money to leave the Christian Democrats, according to Ndoka, who blamed the hatred speech of one of the leaders of the governing Democratic Party in the northern area. The Christian Democrats were until recently part of the governing coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Albanian electoral campaigns are often tense and marred by irregularities.
Last week, a man was fatally shot following an argument over a party campaign poster, and in May an opposition lawmaker was also killed.
A delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be monitoring the June 28 vote, in which the conservative Berisha will face a challenge from Edi Rama, the Socialist leader and mayor of Tirana.