CoE Mediates Politics

TIRANA, Feb. 23 – A delegation from the Council of Europe on Tuesday urged Albanian leaders to end a months-long dispute over alleged fraud in the June general election. Following two days of talks it seemed they could hardly suggest more than what they had previously said – create an investigative parliamentary committee and called on the opposition Socialists to end their boycott.
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Cavusoglu and an accompanying delegation visited Tirana, Albania on February 22 and 23.
The opposition Socialists of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama have boycotted parliament for the past five months, claiming that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha manipulated the vote count to secure re-election.
Berisha’s government strongly denies the charges.
A CoE’s Parliamentary Assembly delegation was in Albania’s capital of Tirana for two days meeting all top leaders, including President Bamir Topi expressing support of his mediation role.
The CoE suggested a parliamentary committee be created to investigate the fraud claims and asked the Socialists to end their boycott.
“We are expecting positive progress means that opposition returns to parliament,” said head of the delegation Mevut Cavusoglu. He was not clear what that meant despite pressure from the journalists.
The reaction of the two leaders _ Berisha’s Democrats and Socialists’ leader Edi Rama _ showed there is no progress.
Berisha repeated they were ready to create a parliamentary committee to investigate the polls but no vote recount, while Rama re-stressed that “without opening the ballot boxes there is neither a solution of the crises nor the parliament resuming its normal life.”
The Democrats control 75 of parliament’s 140 seats; the Socialists have 65. Important laws, such as on EU membership, require a three-fifths majority, or 84 votes, to pass.
Cavusoglu, president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, held separate meetings with President Topi, Prime Minister Berisha, Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli and also Rama.
They said the absence of parliamentary dialogue undermines the democratic functioning of the state’s institutions.
They said the solution of the current political crisis could be based on the following principles:
– the creation without further delay of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the June 2009 election, chaired by a representative of the opposition and in which the opposition will have an effective majority;
– this committee of inquiry would prepare amendments to the electoral code in line with the recommendations of the international observation mission and of Resolution 1709;
– the opposition would be granted a fair share of the chairmanships of the parliamentary committees.
The PACE delegation notes that both parties agree that this must be dealt with within the constitutional framework of the Republic of Albania. The delegation considers that this is sufficient to enable the opposition to permanently participate in the work of parliament. It urges them to do so without further delay.
The Albanian president brokered last week a meeting between Berisha and Rama in a bid to resolve the deadlock but the two leaders failed to reach a compromise.
The European Union has warned Albania that it risks jeopardizing efforts to join the 27-nation bloc if it fails to resolve a political crisis that is preventing Parliament from functioning.
EU diplomats warned the two main parties last week that “the EU perspective for Albania is at stake” unless they reach a deal.
Their visit was a response to the request made by the PACE in its Resolution to “Ƴupport the process of resolving the current political situation and assist President Topi in his role of mediator and his efforts to restore political dialogue.”
Albanian President Bamir Topi on 13 February organized a meeting between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama in what represented the first attempt to overcome, via face-to-face talks, a political crisis which erupted following the June 2009 elections.
But the meeting failed to produce tangible results, with European Union officials becoming increasingly concerned and warning that the problem could hamper Albania’s EU integration.
The Socialists of Rama insist they will continue to boycott the new parliament insisting on a recount of votes. But the government firmly rejects the demand.
The opposition has rejected advice from EU diplomats to return to parliament and to fight for its cause there. At the same time, the government has yet to address properly the shortcomings of the June election that, according to international monitors, were not fully in accordance with European standards.
“The current political difficulties are endangering further progress. I must say frankly that I am a strong supporter of political dialogue and not boycotts as a way to find political solutions,” EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton said in a speech delivered last week in Belgrade, referring to the situation in Albania.
The fact that the Council of Europe is dealing with Albanian democracy means that this country has taken a step back rather than made progress in the democratic process. That is the general feeling following the PACE delegation visit. Albania’s terrible past during the communist dictatorship can no longer serve as a justification for the flawed political culture existing in the Balkan country if it really wants to achieve its goal of EU integration.