Opposition turns down the idea for parliament to change the constitution to allow 16-year-olds to vote in the June 23 parliamentary elections.
TIRANA, March 13 – Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has called for a law to lower the voting age to 16 from the current 18. He made the proposal Monday when Berisha was talking in a regular meeting with his governing Democratic Party lawmakers.
Following his request, Democrat lawmakers’ leader Astrit Patozi asked for and held Wednesday a meeting with his counterpart of the opposition Socialist Party Gramoz Ruci.
Ruci turned down the idea that the parliament should change the constitution to allow 16-year-olds to vote as of the June 23 parliamentary elections.
Berisha said that there are hundreds of youngsters asking for that in his Facebook social site and he reassured them that personally he would continuously insist on the constitution amendment to allow them the right of vote.
Berisha also said with his smile on lips that even based on the country’s tradition 16-year old are allowed to keep a weapon and also to get married.
The opposition Socialists said that was not correct to make such a request for a continual amendment only three months ahead of the June 23 parliamentary elections.
Another opposition lawmaker, Damian Gjiknuri, also considered that a crazy idea to urge such change. And another one, Arben Isaraj said that Berisha did not really understand what that meant and mentioned some countries in the region and beyond in Europe that all have set the age of 18, like Albania, for the right to vote.
Representatives of the international community in Albania also turned down such an idea at this moment ahead of the polls.
Eugen Wollfarth of the OSCE said that could be an idea to be discussed possibly for the 2017 elections, adding that he doubted there was time till June polls to do that. He said that Albania should have a stable situation before elections and not change things. Wollfarth also said that he was not aware if the idea was ever mentioned in the talks they have held with the Albanian authorities. The OSCE is a key factor assisting Albania in the electoral reform.
The idea was the main topic of discussion for some days this week. That is usually the case when Berisha throws any idea and it gets discussed so much for days and then likely forgotten. It would be normal that such an idea could not be included for the upcoming polls.
But it also served as a political topic. Government supporting the Socialist Movement for Integration of Ilir Meta said that was an idea to be debated upon at a time when almost all other political groupings turned it down.
Albania is getting ready for the June polls and the political debate continues wide all over the country.
The international community is concerned that in Albania government institutions suffer from corruption and excessive political influence. And in the lead-up to the June parliamentary elections there is worry about a return to the heated debate and partisan conflict like that which erupted after the 2009 polls when the Socialist opposition contested the election and boycotted the parliament.
But the international community and also the European Union, in which Albania wants to become a member one day, have said clearly that holding free and fair, democratic elections in line with the international standards are key test for its next step toward the bloc.
