TIRANA, Feb. 4 – Albanian President Bamir Topi invites squabbling political parties to sit at a negotiating table to resolve allegations of vote rigging and the political fight over that which has practically blocked all developments in the country.
Albania’s opposition Socialist Party of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama has boycotted the parliament and holds nationwide anti-government protests claiming Democratic Party’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha manipulated vote counting at last year’s parliamentary elections in several areas. The government says the re-count would be illegal.
The conservatives and their allies won 75 of parliament’s 140 seats in the June 28 elections; the Socialists and an ally 65
The president said he will hold preliminary talks with political leaders and the international community “to prepare terms of negotiations of a joint round-table,” according to a statement released Thursday.
That is exactly what the international community and also many voices int eh country had long said. The president should really get involved in his role of mediator as he is formally above the political parties.
The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution last week asking the government to crate an investigative commission on the June 28, 2009 parliamentary elections and also urged the opposition to end their boycott and return to the parliament to hold a normal debate.
But they also pressed the president and urged him to undertake the mediation role.
A PACE delegation is expected in the country this month to continue such efforts.
Meanwhile all western ambassadors in the country are involved in daily talks with the two opposing sides trying to urge their sitting in a round table.
President gets EU support for political mediation
President Bamir Topi met last week with Spanish Ambassador Manuel Montobio de Balanse, whose country holds the European Union Presidency, and also a senior official of the European Commission Delegation Office in Tirana, Luiggi Bruza, to discuss his role as a political mediator between the two opposing sides.
The EU officials commented the PACE resolution recommendations and gave their full support in his role as a mediator in the political crises in the country.
Topi expressed his sadness that such a discussion on the country’s political debate was held in Strasbourg and not inside the country, a clear sign of the lack of political maturity.
He also said that he is closely following the political developments in the country and welcomed any contribution on the political dialogue.
He said that the country’s integration into the bloc asked for a serious commitment of all the institutions and groupings so that the necessary reforms were conducted. He also welcomed close cooperation of the international institutions and partners on that road.
The governing Democrats also hinted to the president that he may play a role as a mediator but that does not mean he should push them for a ballot recount. On the contrary, they reminded him that as the head of the Council of Justice, the supreme legal body in the country, he cannot break the laws, the Constitution.
A former deputy head of Berisha’s Democratic Party, since taking office two years ago the president has been often at odds with the Albanian premier.
World in assault for political mediation
The international community is becoming more and more involved in trying to reconcile Albanian politics and take the country ahead in its reforms and goals of integration into the European Union.
The Council of Europe strongly suggested that the country’s President Bamir Topi should be involved in resolving the political crises.
That found immediate reactions from both opposing political sides.
The governing Democrats of Prime Minsiter Sali Berisha said they welcomed Topi’s role (Topi is a former deputy head of the Democratic party) but he should always keep in mind that as head of the senior judicial authority he cannot ask for the opening and recount of the ballot boxes which were decieded upon from the Electoral College.
On the other side, the opposition Socialsits of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama strongly supported Topi’s role of mediator without saying anything. But they also repeated strongly that there would be no negotiations, no investigative committee unless a number of ballot boxes would be reopened and be recounted.
That is a total impasse in this post-communist country which has shown over the last two decades of democracy it is not capable of resolving these problems on its own.
As usual western ambassadors have started their tours between the opposing groups.
Spanish Ambassador Manuel Montobbio, whose country holds the EU rotating presidency, the EC Delegation Ambassador Helmuth Lohan and OSCE Ambassador Robert Bosch continue their almost daily trips from the government to the Socialist party.
On the other Side there is also the US Ambassador John Withers who makes the same trips.
They are normally followed with other visits from the other western ambassadors.
Next week the CoE delegation is likely to arrive in Albania and will press hard for both sides to sit down at a round table, or whatever they like to call it, to discuss the issues.
The CoE has said clearly that, on one side, the government should agree to create an investigative committee and should start managing it, and, on the other side, the opposition Socialsits should return to parliament and end the boycott to discuss the issues there.
They will likely press them first to hold a meeting between the two main leaders, talks that will normally continue with working groups based on a platform that will also be likely prepared by the international community.
