TIRANA, Dec. 11 – Delegates representing a large portion of Albania’s Democratic Party convened in an assembly Saturday, voting to sack the party’s incumbent leadership and approving changes to the party’s constitution.
The delegates represent supporters of the former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and others who say they want change in Albania’s main opposition party, following a string of electoral and political defeats.
The date was chosen to match the anniversary of the party’s establishment in 1990, and the assembly labelled itself as the “re-establishment” of the political force.
Delegates voted to sack Chairman Lulzim Basha, and replace him and the rest of the leadership bodies with a 27-member transition entity, the DP Re-establishing Committee which will lead the party until another assembly can be held on March 22 next year. The committee is made up of long-time leadership members, including Berisha and several current members of parliament.
The assembly has called for a referendum in the party to be held on Dec. 18, asking all party members to ratify the decision to sack Basha.
The party’s current leadership, under Basha, says the Dec. 11 assembly is illegal and its decisions cannot be enforced. It has called an assembly of its own on Dec. 18 where replacement of the leadership will not be discussed.
Berisha’s U.S. troubles spark DP crisis
Albania’s Democratic Party has seen months of internal turmoil following the loss of the April 25 general elections for an unprecedented third time.
But the genesis of the Dec. 11 assembly comes from a decision of the U.S. State Department in May, to publicly designate Berisha as an official banned from entering the United States due to involvement in “high-level corruption.”
Under pressure from U.S. officials, Basha announced in September that Berisha would be expelled from the DP parliamentary group.
The decision led to Berisha launching a comeback movement within the ranks of the Democrats against Basha, the man Berisha had hand-picked as his successor and supported over the years, despite losing several elections.
Berisha held meetings around Albania to gather support for the Dec. 11 assembly, indicating he intends to return to the helm of the Democratic Party.
Berisha said the U.S. designation is “unfounded in facts and evidence,” telling his supporters that it is an ill-informed act taken under the influence of actors who are angry over his stances, including multi billionaire donor to American progressive causes, George Soros.
Berisha says he has been declared guilty without any proof or due process and has filed a defamation suit in a French court against U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
With DP being the traditional center right party in Albania, Berisha and his supporters have indicated that if a Republican administration was in power in the United States, the designation would have never happened, and that in fact it might be reversed when there is a shift in power in Washington.
However, in an interview with local media during his visit to Tirana this week, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said Berisha’s claims are “wrong” and “dangerous.”
“I do not want people to see these thoughts and these announcements as a political tool. These are institutional efforts to fight corruption,” Escobar said. “Therefore, it was not done by one administration, it was not done by one decision-maker, and it was not done by a member or an organization within the cabinet. It was a collective effort and we reached a consensus on it.”
Perceptions on U.S. decision vary
Pointing to the legacy of his leadership period, when Albania became a NATO member and advanced the country’s EU bid, Berisha has repeatedly said during his tour of Albania that DP will have excellent relations with the United States with him at the helm.
But U.S. officials, including Escobar and U.S. Ambassador to Tirana Yuri Kim, have made it clear they would not meet with Berisha due to the public designation, even if he is re-elected party leader.
Some analysts note that Berisha’s designation on corruption has led many opposition voters to perceive the United States and its representatives in Tirana as biased in favor of the ruling Socialist Party and Prime Minister Edi Rama. They add that Ambassador Kim’s public statements on the matter have crossed diplomatic lines, leading to anger at the U.S. Embassy, visible through comments on social media. That is unprecedented in Albania, one of the most pro-American countries in the world.
Government critics say it is unusual to see the U.S. strong insistence on focusing on 77-year-old Berisha, who hasn’t been in the executive or in party leadership since 2013, when international reports on the current government show state capture and corruption at high levels.
U.S. supporters also worry about the backlash and unwanted damage to the reputation of the United States among ordinary Albanians. While Berisha enjoys the support of only a minority of Albanians, he has a strong loyal group with a lot of weight in the Democratic Party. Some polls show Berisha is more popular than current leader Basha within the party, but clearly hurts the DP in the general elections, as he is a divisive figure due to his actions during Albania’s painful transition to democracy.
Berisha characteristically did not mince his words at the assembly in attacking the American envoy to Tirana. “The ambassador acts like a governor, like the Soviet ambassador once did,” Berisha said. “I invite officials to reconsider their decision because arrogance and error are not virtues of free people. I guarantee you that I will continue my mission … without wavering … to return DP in power as a party of values of freedom, as a party that will integrate Albania in the European Union.”
Many of Berisha’s detractors say he is allowing his personal matters and quest to save his legacy to hurt the party he founded and Albania in the process.
Basha held a small event to commemorate the party’s founding at headquarters and told reporters he would not allow DP to become a party of anti-Americanism.
“The shadows of the past cannot muddy the waters. And the cult of an individual will not be allowed to be built in any form or shape,” Basha said in a clear referral to Berisha, but without using his name.
Assembly vote leaves DP in legal limbo
Nearly 5,000 delegates were present in the Dec. 11 assembly, according to its organizers, who say the decisions are legal and final.
However, the incumbent leadership of the party doesn’t recognize the Dec. 11 assembly, which they say is a move undertaken by Berisha, which “has nothing to do with the Democrats and their troubles, but with the personal troubles of Mr. Berisha.”
Chairman Basha says what he calls the “legitimate assembly” of the Democratic Party will be held on Dec. 18. According to party officials loyal to the current leadership, 5,200 names of delegates had officially confirmed their participation with DP headquarters.
With tensions running high, there were rumors that Berisha’s supporters would storm the party headquarters, but that was denied by the Dec. 11 assembly organizers who said all processes would be peaceful.
However, with competing claims to official party assemblies and leaderships, ultimately it might be up to courts to decide who will officially represent the party, experts say.
Experts and polls show the party’s membership and voters are split in three groups. Supporters of Berisha make up the first and largest group. Another group supports Basha, and yet another third wants a fresh start with a new leader.
In addition to Berisha loyalists and old timers, many of those who attended and voted in the Dec. 11 assembly want to remove Basha from power because they are unhappy with several electoral losses while he was at the party’s helm.
Critics point out that Basha’s time at the helm must end because he has shown he is not strong enough to fight off “the Rama regime” and “the unfair practices Rama has used to win elections.” Berisha’s supporters say only Berisha has the gravitas needed to fight off Rama and propel DP back to power.
Several of the decisions at the assembly involved making the party more democratic and the chairmanship weaker, by making the removal from the post of the chairman automatic after an election loss and bringing back one member one vote on key decisions.
Berisha says the goal of his efforts is to democratize the party, open it to the public and make sure it returns to power. He has indicated he would not mind if he became prime minister again.
