TIRANA, July 13 – For the second time in three days, lawmakers on Tuesday evening voted for a new president as a formality to assure they abide by the rules of the Constitution.
Lawmakers again failed to elect a new president in a second round of voting with the opposition boycotting the process and, on the other side, appealing for new parliamentary elections.
Bamir Topi, deputy leader of the governing Democratic Party-led coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, won 74 votes, one less than Sunday’s first vote and short of the 84 necessary to secure the post.
The Democrats have 80 seats in the 140-seat parliament, too few to overcome an opposition boycott. This round of voting saw only 82 PMs present for the vote.
The other candidate, former Prime Minister and opposition Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, who is supported only by a small part of the opposition grouping that was also not present for the voting, won just 5 votes, two more than Sunday.
A day later in northern Shkodra, Edi Rama of the opposition Socialists, said that they were ready to go to general elections, adding that the presidential crisis could not be linked with the fate of the prosecutor general. Berisha has repeatedly called for the firing of the prosecutor general, which is opposed by the opposition parties.
Parliament may hold three more votes before July 24, when Moisiu’s term expires.
