TIRANA, Aug. 2 – Only a new law that can spell out that people with a criminal record cannot run for office or be employed in the public administration can address current concerns over decriminalization, Prime Minister Edi Rama has said at a press conference.
The prime minister, who is under fire for at least two MPs in his ruling coalition having alleged criminal ties, said a new law to address the matter would be ready by autumn, whether the opposition cooperated or not.
U.S. officials chided the Albanian government last week, saying it had a member of parliament who had been convicted and served a sentence for human traffiking. Local media reported the conviction related to the trafficking of a woman who was used as a prostitute in Italy.
Another MP elected as part of the ruling coalition is currently under arrest awaiting extradition to Belgium in connection with a murder, which Belgian authorities say was also related to a prostitution ring.
“The issue of criminal records in politics and in the administration will be dealt with legally. And with the new session, we will pass the law to deter all those who had criminal records – real, not presumed – from being involved in politics and in the public administration,” Rama said.
He added he is faced with an “undoubtedly undesirable” trend of people with criminal ties making their way to public office, but added that ahead of the 2013 elections he had asked for criminal record certificates and got clean ones for all the people he handpicked to run for MPs.
He indicated the opposition was using the accusation for political capital and he would not allow the new law to be dragged in parliament.
“We will take in the draft and would approve it with or without them. And we will end the debate, and avoid the phenomenon in the future. So in the next elections, this phenomenon will be overcome,” Rama said, adding he would extend the same rules to the public administration.
The opposition Democrats were the first to ask for a decriminalization law, but seven months of talks with the government have failed to find a common denominator.
The Democrats say they already have a platform to solve the problem.
“The Democratic Party proposes that there be constitutional and legal bans on people who have problems with justice in other countries as well,” said Democrat MP Oerd Bylykbashi. “People that should be banned from running for or holding public office should be all persons who are under investigation or in trial in other countries, are wanted internationally or were expelled from European Union countries or other countries in connection with the commission of serious crimes in those countries.”
Both parties appear to agree on the matter, but it remains to be seen if political bluster will be set aside to come up with a bipartisan law, experts said.
The opposition wants the law to also deal with those currently holding office in the central and local governments.
“The Democratic Party proposes constitutional and legal changes for the immediate termination of the mandates of MPs and officials with criminal pasts in Albania or abroad and stopping the election or appointment of these persons in the future,” Bylykbashi said.
The U.S. and EU ambassadors in the country had called on the voters to reject candidates they suspected of having a criminal past during the July 21 local elections. However, in two medium-sized municipalities in particular focus, Kavaja and Kruja, both Socialist candidates won with comfortable margins despite the international represetative objections.
The candidates and their party had publicly said they had not been convicted of any crime, thus they had clean records. Information leaked to the media by international officials showed both candidates were allegedly involved in low-level drug-related crimes in Western Europe.
The Democrats want to to go as far as fingerprinting and checking all those in office or who want to run for office, a process the Socialists say is “ridiculous.”
According to the Democratic Party, the law on decriminalization should be followed by changes in the constitution, the Electoral Code, the rules of parliament as well as the code of criminal procedure.
