Tirana Times
TIRANA, June 7 – The leader of the opposition Socialist Party, Edi Rama, has said that party members and supporters will resume protests demanding transparency in relation to the June 2009 general elections unless the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha agrees to reach a compromise on their accountability.
Rama has resumed trips to different cities to meet with his supporters.
At a party gathering in Korca on Sunday, Rama told his supporters about the political developments and insisted the Socialists were determined to pursue the cause.
Rama also blamed the government of ruining the economy adding that the economic crisis stemmed from a lack of governing transparency.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha rebutted the claims, saying his cabinet is working to reassure the Socialists that it has the determination to resolve the ten-month long political crisis.
The Socialists first boycotted the parliament for six months claiming vote manipulation from the Democrats and asking for a partial recount of a number of ballot boxes, something that was harshly turned down by the Democrats saying that would violate the laws and the Constitution.
Following an intensive pressure from the Council of Europe in late February the Socialist turned back to parliament, allegedly to create an investigative commission on the June 28 elections, which were narrowly won by Berisha’s Democrats controlling 75 of the 140 parliament’s seas together with their allies.
The opposition did not accept the way the parliament decided to create the investigative commission and resumed their boycott. Following that they also started a three-week hunger strike just in front of Berisha’s office.
Then it was up to the European Commission and the European Parliament to invite the two main leaders at an informal dinner in Strasbourg urging them of a compromise.
Since then they have achieved nothing, or at least what everybody knows in this tiny country.
The offer now seems somewhat different. The socialists agree to first investigate only the vote documentation and if proved, they will ask for the vote partial recount but it will be the Venice Commission to decide whether the last move is in line with the Constitution or not.
Time is passing by and the first two-week deadline set from Europe has passed without results.
Meanwhile Tirana got the approval from the European Commission on the visa-free regime.
That is to be followed with a vote from the European Parliament and a decision from the EU’s Council of interior ministers which could take the decision by the end of the year.
But the European Parliament postponed a resolution on the country last week telling Tirana politicians they have to reach a compromise until June 22 or they will vote down the resolution on Albania.
True the visa-free regime is a decision based on the technicalities which the country should fulfill and which seems to have achieved that in most of the benchmarks (three were added and to be completed until July). But the parliament’s decision may turn into a political one, as Tanja Fayon, the Slovenian lawmaker in charge of the visa-free regime for Albania and Bosnia, said.
