Opposition to hold street protest on vote rigging countrywide

TIRANA, Oct. 6 – Albania’s opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama insisted Tuesday they would hold a rally Oct. 10 to protest the alleged vote rigging from the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and many others countrywide if they were not allowed to count the suspected ballot boxes.
“I call on Sali Berisha to understand that the Socialist Party does not enter the parliament without being fulfilled their requests for the transparency of the June 28 elections and that with the whole of the opposition we shall scale up the manifestation of protests on the law violation that will guarantee the opening of the ballot boxes. The Saturday Oct. 10 opposition manifestation is just the start of an effort we shall spread up in every street of the country if the power that was born from the grabbing of the votes does not open the ballot boxes of June 28,” Rama said at a news conference Tuesday.
The opposition lawmakers have boycotted the new parliament demanding it investigates the election fraud allegations, and pass legislation required for the process.
The opposition has turned down calls from the international community that the political debate is held at the parliament.
The Socialists won 65 seats. After a former Socialist lawmaker joined forces with a governing counterpart to create a new political party, the Democrats control now 71 seats in the 140-member parliament. Berisha has formed an alliance with the small left-wing LSI party, which won four seats.
Rama also asked Berisha and the Central Elections Commission not to burn the ballots, a process that has already started according to the law.
The opposition is claiming irregularities only in some areas in the country.
Rama called on all the people to come to the protest on Saturday in the capital, Tirana. Protests are usually held at Skanderbeg Square or Mother Teresa square. But Rama also said they would protest in front of Berisha’s office.
The Socialists said they were determined to take the parliament boycott to the end, until their requests were fulfilled and the June 28 elections were probed. He said that turning a deaf ear from the governing majority will not give any result on the return to the parliament.
Rama also asked Berisha not to play games with Albanians referring to the visa-free regime with the European Union. He said that on Saturday they would also ask him to give account on the fact why Albania was not included together with FYROM, Montenegro and Serbia in the visa-free regime this summer.