EU urges Tirana resolve the political crisis

TIRANA, Nov 9 – Eight European Union ambassadors in Tirana urged the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the main opposition Socialist Party of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama to reach a compromise and solve the political crisis in the country resulting from the boycott of the opposition in the parliament.
The message was made from eight ambassadors convened on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.
They urged the opposition to end the boycott but also the government to find a solution to the crisis, adding that was not a good omen for the country’s efforts of integration into the bloc.
The opposition is boycotting the parliament and also the partial local elections of Nov. 15 to protest against the manipulation of the vote count at the June 28 parliamentary elections.
The opposition has won 64 seats in the 140-seat parliament (one left last month to create a separate political party). Their ally, the Human Rights Union Party is taking part in the parliamentary session.
The Democrats won 68 seats and their two small allies the Republican Party and the Party for Integration and Justice one each. Ilir Meta’s Socialist Movement for Integration won four seats.
But such a make-up of the parliament means that Berisha’s government cannot adopt the key laws on country reforms, needed for EU integration as well as for visa liberalization, without the opposition vote. They ask for a three-fifth or 84 votes.
Meanwhile the opposition continues its weekly street protests all around the country, this week in southeastern Korca, and calls for a bigger rally in the capital, Tirana, Nov. 20. It started the rallies in Tirana Oct. 10.
In Korca Rama called on the governing Democrats to open the way to transparency of the June vote.
Rama warned Berisha that it would be better he opened the ballot boxes they ask for now and not when he will be obliged to do that.
Rama hinted that soon they may ask for the fall of the Democrats’ government.
He repeated their conviction that the Socialists will not enter the parliament until their request for the investigation of the June 28 vote is made. They want an investigative committee and the proper legislation to do that.
The opposition leader also repeated the call for the big protest in Nov. 20 to break down the wall of the old policy that is hampering the free vote, according to him.
“Let’s convene in Nov. 20 to strongly protest for our hope and dreams, for the future which are imprisoned at the ballot boxes,” he told his supporters in Korca.
At the moment Berisha is accepting the creation of the investigative parliamentary committee but also says they cannot open the ballot boxes, thus violating the verdicts of the electoral college.
In all this political fight Albania and Albanians are losing time, the much needed reform and also the transparency of elections. Post-communist Albania has never held elections that have not been contested.