TIRANA, June 22 – Head of Democratic Party Lulzim Basha said on Friday evening that the departure of Prime Minister Edi Rama remains a non-negotiable condition for resolving the country’s political crisis.
Speaking during the protest organized in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, Basha added as another “non-negotiable” condition giving a prison sentence to all “of those who steal votes”, referring to the recent wiretap recordings made by the German newspaper BILD and which allegedly revealed the highest ranks of Socialist officials participating in vote-buying.
“Now that the evidence is there for everyone to see, the February 16 pledge remains in force. There is and will not be any negotiations with Rama as Prime Minister, there will be no political agreement without first punishing the vote thieves, no political agreement without first giving back your vote and your dignity,” said Mr. Basha, addressing supporters gathered at the main boulevard Tirana.
The opposition’s position also remains unchanged on the June 30 elections. According to Basha, the PM “is heading towards a state coup d’etat without the opposition. Rama should know we won’t take steps backwards. There will be no elections on June 30. The civil alliance is on its feet, the battle continues from city to city and from village to village. Any attempt to provoke Albanians will fail with shame, while June 30 will be Rama’s political cemetery,” said Basha, inviting opposition supporters “to be in every street and corner in order to defend democracy and the constitution with the power of our righteous cause.”
Like never before during the protests of the last few months, not even the slightest incident was registered. After his speech, Basha again invited the opposition support to march towards the parliament. No incident was registered there either, while Basha, after briefly staying, headed for the Democratic Party headquarters.
Saturday’s protests took place at a time the country’s deadlock seems to have reached its peak. The last two weeks were marked by violent incidents in many opposition-led municipalities around the country.
The Commission of Electoral Administration Zones offices were attacked and in some cases the election materials were destroyed. Clashes with the police also took place, followed by arrests and prosecutions against dozens of people, according to the authorities and employees of the municipal police, as well as the former Democratic deputies, as in the case of Bardh Spahia.
The opposition further stated that it recognizes President Ilir Meta’s decree which canceled the elections, while the majority continues with the electoral campaign.
The protest was preceded by statements by the international community, which called on opposition leaders to ensure that it would be peaceful and avoid the escalation of the situation.
The US Embassy’s statement last night contained multiple messages, on the one hand condemning acts of recently observed violence, requiring that the perpetrators be held accountable, while on the other hand seeking to protect the integrity of the electoral process. Regarding Friday’s protest, the embassy addressed its organizers “to take responsibility in the face of rule of law principles, publicly appeal to their supporters to gather peacefully and vigorously refuse violence in every opportunity.”
One night before the protest, during an interview on Klan TV, Basha, while calling on citizens to join the protest, said that “there will be absolutely nothing to threaten a citizen’s hair.”
