Government offers constitution amendments

TIRANA, Oct. 9 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha told Democratic Party parliamentarians to prepare a request for amendments of the constitution as set in the Aug. 30 consensual deal with the main opposition Socialist party. The Democrats’ parliamentary group did that, which means that the parliament will soon vote whether to accept the amendments of the constitution which dealt with the increase of the local authorities’ mandate from three to four years and increase of the number of the members of the Central Election Commission. But it did not include the delay of holding the local elections at a bad weather timing, as asked from the opposition.
“We should show our seriousness on what we have signed,” said Berisha at a meeting of the parliamentary group accusing Socialists of always trying to set obstacles in holding the local polls expected between Dec. 20 and Jan. 20, very likely Jan. 14. Berisha launched his flow of accusations against the Socialists expressing his surprise how the opposition did not want to hold elections and try to hamper them.
As expected Socialists counterattacked and said that the Democrats were trying to hold elections at a bad timing in order to be easier for them to manipulate them.
Leaders of smaller political groupings appealed to the two main parties that fulfilling the required standards was very important. They said that the electoral reform was indispensable to achieve free and fair elections. They called for the continuation of the electoral reform that has been blocked, and the need to respect the topics agreed between the Democrats and the Socialists in their Aug. 30 agreement.