Tirana Times
TIRANA, July 25 – Lulzim Basha of the governing Democratic party was sworn in on Monday and took office as Tirana’s new mayor.
The ceremony was held at the City Hall Council dominated by the Democrat-led coalition.Basha won the post after a long process that lasted for two and a half months, taking the political squabbling in the country to new heights. The opposition claimed that the Democrats stole the post of Tirana mayor and accused the judges of the Electoral College of being under direct pressure from Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
Basha said in his first speech that he would keep his pledges and said that he had made a plan for his first 100 days.
Basha also made a strong call for reconciliation, saying that Tirana does not belong to the political parties but to the citizens and pledged he will govern all of them.
“We all have common hopes and dreams and I will work with anyone to make these aspirations real. What unites us is greater than what divides us,” said Basha.
“I am asking all citizens to come together to work for the future of our city, because all of us have a stake in our future. If we fight against each other we will stand still, but if we work together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
Berisha hailed the inauguration of the new mayor that gave an end to the difficult May 8 municipal elections. The premier also called on all political parties and leaders to overcome their differences and work together to address the challenges facing Tirana and Albania, including shortcomings in the country’s electoral code.
“Like close elections around the world, ours had its share of disagreements. It was hotly contested, particularly in the capital of Tirana. But it is time to put aside our personal and political differences, to put the interests of Albania first, and to work cooperatively on behalf of the people,” said Berisha.
The opposition Socialists, on their side, have turned down any offer of dialogue from the governing Democrats saying they do not trust Berisha. They have said they will now talk only with the people and the international community.
The local elections in Albania ran smoothly throughout the country with little to no disagreement between the political parties outside of Tirana and more citizens participated than ever before. In Tirana, the close nature of the election led to disagreements between the political parties on how to treat miscast ballots. Rama led by 10 votes with over 250,000 votes cast after the initial counting process, but after evaluating 762 ballots placed in the boxes for other offices by accident, Basha led by 93 votes. The Electoral College, Albania’s highest court for election matters and an independent judicial body composed of Judges on the Court of Appeals, ruled unanimously twice on this issue with all eight Judges ruling that the miscast ballots should count.Rama, who had been mayor for 11 years, left the office some days ago. Together with him all heads of departments resigned.
