TIRANA, March 16, 2022 – Lulzim Basha, who, pending a court ruling, legally remains chairman of Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party, is facing calls for resignation by almost every MP the party elected in last year’s elections.
The calls, which have now come from even the most loyal MPs in his faction, follow the party’s dismal showing in administrative by-elections earlier this month, in which DP ended up as a third party, gaining fewer votes than the House of Freedom, a coalition between a DP faction led by Sali Berisha and the Socialist Movement for Integration.
Basha told the media this week he would do “whatever is in his hands” to unify the party, but did not utter the word “resignation” and appears to want to hang on to the post, despite having the majority of the party against.
He made the comments at the end of a DP parliamentary group meeting in which MP after MP, including the deputy chairs he appointed, called on him to resign.
DP’s poor showing in the March 6 by-elections led to two deputy chairs resigning — Agron Gjekmarkaj and Grida Duma — who then asked Basha to follow suit.
Basha loyalists and deputy chairs Enkelejd Alibeaj and Jorida Tabaku as well as General Secretary Gazmend Bardhi have also called for a change at the top, albeit they have not been as vocal as others and have not resigned themselves. They and some other of the former Basha supporters want guarantees that Berisha would not be allowed to run for chairman, seeking unity through a third candidate.
“What is clear is that we will have to find a solution beyond the two individuals who have caused this problem, and as long as there is a problem caused by two individuals, we will both have to step back to find a solution to the problem,” Bardhi said.
Berisha, the party’s historic leader, has made it clear he intends to take over again when the party votes for a new chairman.
“The only solution is to unite by returning to allow a free vote,” Berisha’s group said in a statement. “Whoever is afraid of the free vote of the Democrats, has no morals to demand the vote of the Albanians. Every Democrat must understand that exclusions and the lack of a free vote are the death of a political force.”
Albania’s ruling Socialist Party won five out of six mayoral by-elections on May 6, with a divided opposition losing everywhere except in its stronghold of Shkoder, which was won by the candidate of the House of Freedom faction.
The Basha-led DP lost everywhere except in Rrogozhine, indicating which faction has more support among DP voters. The by-elections were a test for factions of the deeply divided opposition.
Three groups within Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party are now vying for control. The largest supports Berisha, the second wants a third candidate and Basha supporters now appear to be in third place.
Delegates representing a large portion of the party convened in an assembly on Dec. 11, voting to sack the party’s incumbent leadership and approving changes to the party’s constitution. The delegates represented supporters of former Prime Minister Berisha and others who say they want change in DP, following a string of electoral and political defeats.
Incumbent Chairman Basha and his supporters say the Dec. 11 assembly was illegal and that his mandate has three more years to go. They held a rival assembly on Dec. 18 and purged all critics from key posts.
DP has seen months of internal turmoil following the loss of the April 25, 2021 general elections for an unprecedented third time. Shortly after the elections, the U.S. State Department publicly designated Berisha, who had not held public office since 2013, as involved in “high-level corruption.”
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, but Basha opponents have been unable to legally dislodge the incumbent from the party’s headquarters. An attempt to do so by force turned into ugly scenes of violence earlier this year.
