TIRANA, Jan. 22 – Albania’s main opposition party Democratic Party is seeking a more active popular involvement in the selection of candidates for members of parliament.
Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha launched the “Propose Your MP” initiative on Monday, calling on citizens and party supporters to submit online the name of their favorite candidates that should be included in the party lists ahead of the June 18 elections.
In a press statement, the DP chairman said that the initiative “is an important step towards a big political turn.”
Basha called on all members, supporters and citizens to express their preference and said that all proposed candidates will be vetted by the Democratic Party and then the chairmanship will select the candidates that will make it to the official list.
“We have a special unit at the Democratic Party that will do the vetting process for all proposed candidates,” he said.
“We are the first party in Albania to establish an Integrity and Ethics Committee with the best expertise and international support to guarantee that the upcoming list of Democratic Party MPs is clear of any ‘moral stain.’” Basha added, highlighting the importance of transparency in the selection of future lawmakers.
On Monday, the party made public an online form in its internet page, which can be accessed by all citizens willing to participate in the process. Participants must identify themselves and then submit their preferred candidate they would like to see on their regional candidate lists by Feb. 15.
The newly established LIBRA party will also apply a similar selection method for its MP candidates. The party chairman and former Socialist Party MP, Ben Blushi, said that the idea of the selection of MP candidates through such a platform was first presented by his party on Jan. 6. He accused the Democrats of stealing “LIBRA’s original idea.”
“Our MPs will be elected through an open vote. Candidates with a criminal conviction will be disqualified,” LIBRA said in a statement.
In 2008, the Socialists and Democrats amended the constitution favoring exclusive rights of political parties and coalitions to draft their list of MP candidates based on a regional proportional system.
Albania will hold parliamentary elections on June 18. The opposition parties have presented five key conditions, making electronic voting and counting their core demand for political participation.
The ruling coalition claims that there is not sufficient time to implement an electronic system of voting before the June 18 election.
