Electoral College upholds Basha’s victory

TIRANA, June 4 – Last week Friday Albania’s top electoral court upheld the victory of the governing party’s candidate in the mayoral race for the capital, Tirana.
The court ruled on a challenge to the victory by the main opposition Socialist Party, whose leader, Edi Rama has been Tirana’s mayor until now.
The court’s verdict upheld a decision by the country’s electoral commission that declared the former Interior Minister, Lulzim Basha as the winner of the May 8 race. Basha had secured 81 votes more than Rama in a second count, after electoral authorities decided to include miscast ballots.
Rama had won the initial count by 10 votes. He has said he will not accept defeat and has threatened protests.
“Last night, Albanian justice did not even succeed in defending the right of the sovereign people not to have their votes robbed, not to have their fundamental right to elect violated; not to be denied in the most essential of those freedoms that constitute the democratic order,” said Rama.
Supporters of Basha and the ruling Democratic Party celebrated outside the headquarters of the party in central Tirana and a smiling Basha told them he was happy about the victory but would wait for the final verification of the result by the election authorities.
“I am very happy tonight because this battle was about listening to the voice of every citizen,” Basha told the crowd. “This is the biggest victory.”
Rama said that “Last evening there were some who celebrated at the expense of justice but there were many more who felt badly under the weight of the injustice. But the truth is that the last word in this battle for justice has not been said and last night’s decision gives us more power to fight to the end so that justice can be made.”
“Losers cannot become winners and the winners cannot lose,” he said.
The ensuing battle over every vote in the race for the Tirana mayorship has gripped the small Balkan nation and caused considerable tension since the May 8 local polls.
The debate has divided further the two main parties– the ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the opposition Socialist Party of Edi Rama.
The Socialists have boycotted parliament in protest. The Socialists said the decision of the judges lacked clear reasoning and they might appeal, pledging to continue the legal battle.
“In the end, as foreseen by the Electoral Code, the CEC will be able to declare the result. This will need more time, maybe until the end of July. The first phase of this process might be concluded at the end of this week, when the CEC might conclude the inspection of all complaints that have been addressed to it,” said spokesman Leonard Olli.