Crisis over, polls ahead

TIRANA, Jan. 14 – Following a threatening political crisis which caused great concern in the international community as well, Albanian President Alfred Moisiu set Feb.18 as the new date for local elections following a political deal on the electoral reform which was approved in parliament. The parliament on Saturday voted unanimously to postpone holding local polls by a month, first set to Jan. 20, and on other constitutional amendments linked to the electoral reform. Before the parliament’s vote Albania’s 12 parliamentary political parties of the governing coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Socialist-led opposition of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama completed a deal on electoral reforms clearing the way for local elections next month putting an end to a dispute over electoral reforms for more than a year. The agreement was worked out over three days of talks mediated by President Alfred Moisiu, Western diplomats and representatives of various international institutions. The accord followed a joint appeal on Thursday by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, whose Democrats lead the country’s right-leaning parties, and his fierce opponent, Socialist leader and former president Fatos Nano. At a meeting with his electorate in the southernmost town of Saranda, Nano said that “this meeting made it possible to get rid of the conflict from politics so that the sides understand each other and the parties respect the state and the country when they compete in elections.” Nano had made it clear that he would get involved during the electoral campaign though it is not clear if he will participate alongside his party or alone.
The parliament voted to increase members of main electoral authority, the Central Election Commission, from seven to nine, and extend the terms of office for elected local government officials from three to four years. It also increased members of a media monitoring institution to secure more independence.
Saturday’s accord stipulated voters would have to produce two identity documents at polling stations. Fraudsters would face between three and seven years in jail. Voter lists and the use of a birth certification had been the two main contesting issues resulting in the long dispute that threatened holding of local polls. The organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is monitoring elections with observers, hailed the deal as “an important step in ensuring free and fair elections in the framework of a reform process that must continue until completed,” according to a statement from the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. “I encourage the Albanian government and opposition political parties to maintain this spirit of consensus and respect for the rule of law and democratic institutions,” said Moratinos.
The Council of Europe hailed the deal as a “good news for the Albanian people who may, at last, vote for their elected persons” and said it would closely monitor the electoral process. The first group of 22 international observers, out of a total of 430 monitors who are to monitor the electoral process, has been in the country since last month. The international community had warned Albanian politicians the crisis could harm the country’s plans for integration into the European Union and NATO. Since communism ended in Albania in 1990, its elections have consistently fallen short of international standards.
Local elections are regarded as a test of the political maturity of Albania, which aspires to eventual membership of the European Union and the NATO military alliance. Albania has been warned by Brussels that free and fair elections are essential for progress on the road towards EU membership. Albania emerged in the early 1990s from decades of isolation under communism and has a history of troubled, often violent elections.