TIRANA, July 20 – Many analysts believed that election of the new president would be a last-minute solution but they also added that the prolonged parliamentary electoral process had seriously damaged the country’s image as it moves forward to integrate into NATO and the European Union.
Albania’s ever-bickering political factions, including the governing Democratic Party-led coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition Socialist Party-led coalition of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, have been unable to elect a consensual president and have been threatening to take the country to new general elections.
If the parliament fails to elect a president in five rounds, it is dissolved and the country goes to early general elections within 60 days, according to the constitution.
A candidate should receive at least 84 votes, or three-fifths of the 140-seat parliament to secure the post.
President Alfred Moisiu’s term expires Tuesday, July 24.
“I believe there will be a last-minute consensus candidate,” according to Remzi Lani, an independent analyst.
“It’s a normal phenomenon in Albania that every solution goes to the brink of death before finding a last-minute solution, which under stress of time and pressure is not the best one,” said another analyst, Skender Minxhozi.
Talks between the two political groupings for a consensus candidate failed after Berisha refused to vote for a military official proposed by the opposition when the opposition did not agree on some constitutional amendments Berisha had demanded.
The opposition said they were getting ready to go to new elections unless Democrats withdrew Topi from the race.
But early elections would not give a final solution to the issue. It would not be clear whether a political grouping would have the numbers in a new parliament to elect a new president.
The delayed presidential election also was seen by many citizens that their elected lawmakers and political parties put their political interests before the country’s best interests.
“The process brought revealed a political class that, above the country’s interests, puts its narrow private political ones,” according to Lani.
Lutfi Dervishi, another analyst, said that their lack of maturity was a serious setback to the country’s efforts to get full NATO membership next year and claims for joining the EU.
“A country expecting a NATO invitation for full membership in 2008 and claims to fully ratify its pre-membership deal with EU should show more political maturity after 17 years in a democratic process,” he said.
In Albania’s parliamentary republic, the president has some important powers as head of the judiciary commission and the army.
“The president is very much linked with judiciary reform and the judiciary’s shortcomings are the main and distinct barrier to the country’s steps toward international institutions,” said Dervishi.
But to the citizens, that process has been a great pain at a time when they are suffering up to 15 hours power cut and drinking water is supplied only briefly for an hour or so a day.
“If they had elected the president they could pay more time to the power and water supply, our real problems. But who cares about us? When they need our votes they make fascinating pledges we try to believe,” said Flamur Molla, a mechanic repairing cars without power supply.
