President faces opposition on several fronts

TIRANA, June 9 – Governing Democrats and main opposition Socialists reached an alliance at the parliamentary commission deciding that it will be now o up to the Justice Minister to pardon prisoners, lifting that competence from the president of the country.
The opposition has just returned to parliament which it had practically boycotted since its creation last September.
The Socialists complained when President Bamir Topi pardoned 367 prisoners, including some whom they called top convicted criminals. They said, this time supported by the Democrats as well, that the president had overstepped the criteria to be used in pardoning prisoners of different levels.
They said that a number of the pardoned prisoners, 48, had been convinced for grave crimes and should not have been entitled to profit from the pardon.
The president makes normally up to two pardoning decrees a year.
The lawmakers also made ready amendments for the draft law that is soon to be voted by the parliament.