Tirana Times
TIRANA, July 18 – The leader of the main opposition Socialist Party, Edi Rama, said dialogue could not be launched with the current government, which “has won the elections with stolen votes.”
Rama said clearly that “We cannot have a dialogue with the government, which is stealing votes from the opposition and we call on the international partners to tell the truth about the local elections held on May 8 in Tirana.”
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said later Monday that such language was not helping the country’s future and Albanians were bored by it. A few days earlier Astrit Patozi, head of the governing Democratic Party parliamentary group, had sent a letter to Gramoz Ruci of the Socialists asking him to hold a roundtable to discuss further reforms needed for the electoral code.
Rama also acknowledged that part of the constitutional amendments on which the two parties had agreed and voted three years ago, had not been adequate. He also hinted that new amendments were needed.
But Berisha turned down that offer saying the constitution could not be changed every time the opposition leader lost.
The political crisis has continued for more than two years in Albania and it deteriorated following the May 8 local elections.
Democratic candidate Lulzim Basha won by 93 votes, but only after the Central Election Commission decided to include also the miscast ballots. That decision was also accepted by the Electoral College.
The opposition Socialists denounced both acts and accused the judges of being manipulated by the governing Democrats.
The international community also has said repeatedly that the decision by the CEC was doubtful as election commissioners had first been advised to consider miscast ballots invalid.
It is very likely that the European Union’s progress report, due in early November, may again turn down the country’s request for candidate status.
Meanwhile the Tirana municipality quietly awaits its new mayor, Lulzim Basha, and its former top heads of departments resigned as a group saying they could not work with a person who did not win the election legitimately.
In the offices and corridors of the municipality there is silence.
The winner, Lulzim Basha, is expected to be sworn in Friday after the Municipal Council (parliament) convenes. Earlier last week, on Friday Tirana Court judge Elbana Lluri issued the verdict on Basha thus legalizing the decision from the CEC on Basha’s victory. Everyone now is expecting the final report from the OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission on elections, likely in August.
Tom Countryman, US deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, during an interview with Voice of America said, “The question of counting the miscast ballots was not well handled. We’ve said throughout the process that the rules must be clear and that they must be applied in a transparent and fair manner. ŠThe legal basis for making this decision is not clear to us. ŠThe way it was handled here has unnecessarily put a shadow on what was otherwise a very positive process.”
Maya Vocijancic, spokeswoman of the EC’s Catherine Ashton, also expressed doubts on the way the miscast votes were included in the final tally.
