TIRANA, Sep 16 – The parliament on Wednesday late evening voted to ratify the new Cabinet and also the program of Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
The parliament voted 74-1, with the vote against apparently coming from the Human Rights Union Party leader and lawmaker Vangjel Dule who was present in the hall.
The opposition boycotted the vote following that move it has started since earlier this week when the new parliament convened.
Re-elected Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Wednesday said that reforms to take Albania nearer the European Union were the main priority of his cabinet. Presenting the program of the ‘European Integration Government’ for the next four-year term Berisha said that a visa-free regime with the EU member countries and achieving the status of candidate with the bloc were the first priorities of his cabinet, expecting to be voted on later. “This program’s pillar is Albania achieving standards of pre-acceptence into the EU,” he said pledging all the required reforms.
“European Albania is not a boulevard but an ambitious project, a very difficult one based on our performance. European Albania is a beautiful dream but its change into reality is a universe of reforms.”
Conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha narrowly won re-election, but the opposition Socialists claim the vote was rigged. They are boycotting parliament sessions while demanding an investigation into alleged electoral fraud. Berisha denies the allegations. Berisha’s conservatives and allies control 70 of the 140 parliamentary seats, and together with the leftist LSI party’s four lawmakers make up the governing coalition.
The opposition Socialist and their ally won 66 seats. Berisha presented his program and expects to have the vote for his cabinet
Wednesday. Berisha also pledged ‘zero tolerance’ in the fight against corruption and organized crime, and poverty which covered 12.1 percent of the population.
The new government would find and fund some 12 billion Euro ($17.5 billion) in infrastructure, industrial parks, energy and other sectors increasing employment with some 160,000 jobs. He mentioned that some 7,000 kilometers of roads would be built or rehabilitated in the next four years. There would be secured non-stop water supply to all areas, especially the tourist ones, and also concluded some 14 projects on filtering waste water. “Besides infrastructure Albania in the digital age is a major goal of the European Integration Government,” he said.
Reforms on property meant that all illegal construction would be legalized until September next year and that all the other titles would be concluded. Promoting tourism and supporting agriculture development remained priorities as well.
Berisha also did not forget to mention an increase of salaries and pensions. He said that Albania aimed at having 150,000 students in four years from 115,000 now. Health reforms would be of top priority in his cabinet with an increase of 60 percent of its budget. Berisha also pledged further support to the recognition of independent Kosovo dominated by an ethnic Albanian population.
The premier also said that minorities in the country would enjoy more rights and freedom and that they had already a better presence in the parliament. He likely meant the presence of the Cam community with a lawmaker, part of his coalition.
Religious tolerance and support to the media were other topics he mentioned, saying no journalist would be penalized for what they wrote against any public official.
An Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s report said Albania had showed significant improvements in holding the general election on June 28 but still had failed to fully meet international standards, noting problems in ballot counting as well as attempts to influence voters, and pressure on voters or election officials.
Berisha pledged that reforming the electoral system would be of major importance during the four years and he also invited the opposition to join them in the parliament guaranteeing their major role in this area.
He also pledged a government on a diet again, this time cutting its expenditure by 25 percent and also to increase the transparency and auditing of public officials’ assets. Past polls in the formerly Communist country have been marred by violence and irregularities, but Albania hopes to improve its election record as it bids for European Union membership. The country joined NATO this year. By the end of 2010 Albania would have a totally professional army with 2 percent of the GDP budget and an effort for full integration into the NATO structures. By 2013 Berisha pledged that some 85,000 tons of excess ammunition would be disposed of.
