European leftists voice support for Albanian opposition

STRASBOURG, France, March 15 – Members of the Party of European Socialists (PES) voiced their support last week for efforts by Albania’s opposition Socialist Party to investigate the 2009 general elections.
Opposition leader Edi Rama was in Strasbourg to meet with PES officials and senior European Parliament (EP) members.
He said he explained to them, “the importance of free elections and their transparency.”
Rama insists that Albania must stop manipulating elections once and for all and also exploited his trip to Strasbourg to call on all Albanians across Europe in an effort to hold free and fair polls in the tiny Balkan country.
The PES welcomed the SP’s decision to end a six-month boycott and return to parliament last month and also urged the Albanian government to do its part and allow a commission to look into the contested elections.
The Socialists have returned to parliament and insist they will deal only with the transparency of the last elections. But last week they could not avoid a resolution on the visa-free regime.
For over six months now the Socialists have been seeking that transparency of the 28 June 2009 elections is ensured through a comprehensive and thorough parliamentary inquiry. Unfortunately, the government, which is headed by Sali Berisha, has denied the Socialist Party and the opposition people the right to transparency, which is a fully legitimate and constitutional right due to them, according to Socialist lawmaker Gramoz Ruci.
He said that new evidence has emerged in support of the request filed by the Socialist Party for the opening of the ballot boxes.