Europe Expecting Completion Of Electoral Reform, Justice Reform

TIRANA, June 28 – European Union officials told Albanian politicians and officials they should complete their electoral reforms before next year’s elections.
European parliamentarians told opposition leaders visiting Brussels that they should speed up efforts and be ready to hold free and fair elections in 2009.
European lawmakers also said that the two main political parties, the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the main opposition Socialist Party of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, should make all the necessary efforts to complete the reforms. This was considered a message to Albania’s smaller political parties to support the electoral reform.
However, the smaller political parties have contested the constitutional amendments of last April made by the two parties, saying they were designed to omit small parties from the next parliament.
The new electoral system will be a regional proportional one based upon voting for political parties, as opposed to the current system of voting for individuals.
A delegation of the Socialist party, headed by Edi Rama, visited Brussels to talk with European Union officials and likely receive their support for the party’s programme.
European lawmakers also reminded Albanian politicians they should not block the work of the Supreme Court and should complete the nomination of judges.
The parliament is expecting new presidential decrees on seven new judges, after they first rejected nominations of five of them earlier this month.
However, in a move that will likely intensify political fighting and hamper the parliament’s work, Prime Minister Sali Berisha blamed the opposition Socialists for the delay in completing electoral reform. He said they only talk about reform and had taken no concrete actions.