Elections, Fear of Consensus

TIRANA, Dec. 28 – After two days of intensive talks and negotiations at the parliament, Albania’s two main political groupings showed clearly that they fear consensus, that they fear each other. Political dialog between the governing Democratic Party-led center-right coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Socialist Party-led leftist opposition of Tirane Mayor Edi Rama gave a partial positive result this week _ to postpone elections for Feb. 18 (though there is still no formal agreement or decision by the parliament). But that is partially helping holding the Jan. 20 local elections. It seemed that the international pressure gave its results to convince Berisha to postpone voting date. It also seemed that the Socialist Movement for Integration of former premier Ilia Meta on one side and the Christian Democrats of Nard Ndokaj and Human Rights Union Party of Vangjel Dule from the majority played an important role or part to oblige the two main political parties to agree. True that Berisha agreed to postpone it but it was only for a month up to Feb. 18, a date which was previously mentioned and pushed from Meta. Berisha insisted that was in the context of the constitutional framework which meant that the mandate of the local elections is a month after the election date. Naturally no one mentioned that now the mandate is postponed for a month, something which Berisha has ironically mentioned often he would not agree to give to Rama. Socialists, on their side, had asked to hold polls in March or April. SO they also agreed to a middle date.
But Wednesday evening parliament’s session did not give results as it was expected. Opposition participated only with their group leaders. The two groupings did not vote and finally agree for a date. Opposition insisted this time that if Feb. 18 gave enough time (or 85 days since November as they had said before) for the voters list, they did not agree to go to the polls with the false birth certificates which they criticize the government of having put in distribution on purpose to exploit their supporters to vote in different places. First they said there were 1.5 million certificates, or identity cards distributed without the proper security symbols. After the parliamentary session they insisted again that election standards could not be achieved unless those certificates were annulled and new ones only for the polls were issued and be administered from the Central Electoral Commission (or KQZ). Berisha’s Democrats did not agree with that. They, on their turn, suggested another solution: the make up of the zone electoral commissions be changed to four for each of the two main parties and a ninth person be elected by vote. Smaller parties of the coalition got angry as it meant they would be avoided at all. Naturally the same reaction would be expected from the smaller parties of the opposition.
It was also said that two opposition leaders tried to negotiate with the ODIHR, which is expected to publish its first report on the elections by mid-January. As always it will very much be likely that the international community will be the one to offer the solution that would totally please neither of the two groupings, but oblige both of them to agree. Stubborn Albanian politicians are clearly showing they do not trust each other even for such major issues that will very likely affect the country’s future progress toward integration into the European Union and NATO.