No early polls despite results, says Berisha

TIRANA, April 5 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha said explicitly that despite the results of the May 8 local elections no fresh polls would be held afterwards, as the opposition Socialists require.
“There will be no early elections,” Berisha said in an interview with local broadcaster TV Klan.
The May 8 elections are considered as a serious test for the ruling party and the opposition, which has been calling for early elections following a high-level corruption scandal and a violent anti-government protest in January that left four people dead.
Berisha said openly that winning in capital Tirana would be the real victory for the governing Democrats, where their former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha runs against Socialist Tirana Mayo Edi Rama.
Rama has won the post in the last three voting.
Tirana is the real test, THE game for the May 8 polls.
But besides the May 8 polls are also considered a test for Albania’s democratic credentials.
The European Union has warned Albania that the long political dispute is threatening its reforms required for the integration into the bloc.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has told Albania the May 8 local elections are key for the political criteria.
Following Albania’s application to join the European Union, the European Commission published its Opinion on Albania’s application for membership of the European Union and set out 12 key priorities, which Albania needs to act upon in order to progress on its European path.
The tiny Balkan country is to hold local elections May 8 amid fierce political rivalry, with the opposition Socialists demanding that Berisha’s conservative Democrats hold early elections over allegations of corruption and vote-rigging in the 2009 general election.
The European Union has stressed, more than once, the importance of ensuring free, fair and
democratic municipal elections in Albania in line with domestic and international standards. Getting
these elections right is essential for Albania’s track record in relation to its EU aspirations and it is
imperative in order to obtain the confidence of the electorate. The political leaders are responsible
for the good conduct of electoral campaign and elections.
Berisha’s ruling Democratic Party and the Socialist opposition, headed by Rama, have been locked in a power struggle since the June 2009 elections.
The Socialists allege that Berisha stole the elections through voter fraud, while the ruling majority rejects the accusations as baseless and maintains that the polls were the best the country has ever held.