Top political parties fail to come up with a consensus candidate
in early rounds as international and domestic pressure increases.
TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, June 7 – The election of Albania’s next head will officially be decided in the late rounds as the ruling coalition and main opposition party failed to reach consensus on a common candidate for the first two rounds of voting in parliament.
The election has been the main focus of attention in Albania for more than a week because failure to elect a consensual candidate of wide appeal will likely further delay the country’s EU integration and perpetuate the climate of unhealthy political conflict between the two main political parties.
There has also been increasing international pressure on the Albanian political elite to reach consensus, including a visit to Tirana of EU Enlargement General Director Stefano Sannino on the eve of the third round of voting which was scheduled for June 7.
Analysts note that after a short reprieve, there appears to be a return to the zero-sum game and political conflict that has been dominating Albanian politics in recent years as Albanian politicians on both sides to try to control or influence the institution of the presidency.
Missing candidate in second round
On June 4, parliament met for the second round of voting for a new president, but no official vote took place as there was no official candidate introduced. Constitutionally, the round of voting counts whether there is a candidate or not.
The session lasted about two minutes, just long enough for Speaker Jozefina Topalli note the vote and session were considered “consumed” and that there was no candidate presented for vote.
“No candidate was put forward … and we will move on to the third round of voting,” parliamentary speaker Jozefina Topalli said.
Coalition still pushing for Zaganjori
Despite not introducing his name in parliament, governing coalition has already agreed on their candidate, Xhezair Zaganjori. They argued a formal proposal would be senseless since the opposition Socialists have already disagreed on the unilateral process and have failed to propose a candidate of their own.
A much-anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and main opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama failed to make any progress on a consensual candidate. It produced no results other than words saying they presented their stands to each other and Rama adding that was an open line for further communication.
There are those in both parties pushing for consensus by the third round, but as of press time for this newspaper no progress was noted.
The Socialists had asked for a couple more days on the third round, the last one asking for three-fifth of 84 votes to elect a president. The next two rounds ask only for an absolute majority, or 71 votes at the 140-seat parliament, which means the ruling coalition can elects whomever they want in the fourth round without consulting the opposition. Analysts note that whether that would be following the letter of the constitution it does not follow the spirit of the law, which calls for a president that is seen as widely representative of all Albanians.
Berisha-Rama meeting shows no results
Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama met for the first time face-to-face to discuss the issue of the new President on July 3. No concrete a results came from the meeting.
Both parties say they were able to lay the groundwork for future talks.
Berisha again expressed concern that the elections take place within the first three rounds and that the candidate reflects the best interests of the nation. Berisha said, “I expressed the determination of majority for an effort to consensual solution to this problem, as defined in the constitution, which in spirit and letter sets this solution as resolved within the constitutional three early rounds.” He also said he believes the majority has opened themselves to fair negotiations leaving the next steps toward consensus to be taken by the opposition.
The pair now has one last chance to reach a consensus before risking an automatic rejection of the country’s bid for candidate status with the EU.
But both leaders offered little more detail than to claim they have now laid the groundwork for future talks.
The meeting came after heavy pressure from the international community. Apart from the fact that this was the first face-to-face meeting between the two men in five years, there was no other breakthrough.
How the process works
Under the Albanian constitution, the parliament has a maximum of five attempts to choose a successor for President Bamir Topi, whose five-year term expires on July 24. Should it fail, it would trigger early parliamentary elections, to be held within 45 days. Topi is not running for a second term.
The Democrats have only nominated Xhezair Zaganjori, a constitutional court judge for the post.
Zaganjori made his move last week when he met with Socialist leader Edi Rama in his office. Upon coming out of the meeting Zaganjori only said that he assured Rama he would be politically impartial if he was elected in the post.
Sources from the Socialist Party say they cannot vote for Zaganjori due to his stance on Constitutional Court verdicts, in which ruled against the Socialists 11 out of 13 times.
They also add Zaganjori has surpassed his term at the court and should have resigned from the post as another colleague there did for the same reasons.
There is extreme pressure to find consensus on the next vote. Losing the first two of five rounds to elect a president means the parliament has only one more stab at electing a new head of state by consensus under the constitution. Failure to secure more than 84 votes in the 140-seat parliament in the third round would see the required margin drop to a simple majority. With 74 seats, the governing coalition would have a simple task to push the decision through.
Democrats say their candidate is non-partisan
The ruling Democratic Party eventually did propose a non-partisan candidate, a constitutional court judge, Zaganjori, but his nomination was swiftly rejected even before the vote. Berisha pointed out that the ruling majority “made a sacrifice by not bringing forward a political candidate” and praised Zaganjori as a candidate “who has served the country for the last 20 years with independence.”
Regardless of Zaganjori’s record, the opposition Socialists insisted that the presidential candidate must be a compromising one, highlighting they would continue to withhold their consent unless the Democrats agree to negotiate the candidature.
The chairman of the Socialists’ parliamentary group, Gramoz Ruci, denounced Zaganjori’s candidacy saying that “the ruling majority selected a candidate in one-sided manner.”
He complained that their representatives were not involved in any way in decision-making process. However, except for the Socialists’ leader Edi Rama, all other major political actors participated in talks about the future president.
Aside from Berisha, the president of the Socialist Movement for Integration, Ilir Meta, the Republican Party leader, Fatmir Mediu, and the head of the Party of Democracy, Integration and Unity, Shpetim Idrizi, all agreed on Zaganjori’s nomination. As the Albanian constitution mandates two-thirds majority in the first three rounds of voting, the governing coalition, which commands 74 out of 140 seats in the parliament, decided to withdraw Zaganjori’s candidacy.
Analysts now fear that if the Socialists continue obstructing the appointment, the governing majority would use a scapegoat candidates for the first three rounds and then use the fourth and the fifth rounds elect a totally partisan president.
Socialists’ calculate their moves
The president has weak executive powers in Albania and in many cases the head of state is a ceremonial role, which is also manifested in the way in which the president is appointed. However, the Albanian opposition is using every given opportunity to shake Berisha’s governing coalition.
In addition, the rift caused in the Democratic Party after the incumbent president of the country, Bamir Topi, parted his ways with Berisha and announced formation of a new centre-right party, could only grow.
“We are ready to continue our efforts because we want to contribute in this issue,” said Socialist leader Edi Rama after the meeting. “We cannot name a candidate without an agreement with the majority that the selection will be consensual,” Rama added.
The opposition Socialists rejected Zaganjori’s candidature as one-sided and called for talks between the parties to select a candidate who would also receive the blessing of the opposition.
Berisha had declared formerly that he intended to elect a high ranking official of his Democratic Party, but under pressure from his junior government partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration, opted for Zaganjori.
Zaganjori’s nomination was not fielded in the first round of voting Wednesday last week, nor on Monday this week.
It is unclear if his nomination will go for a vote even in Friday’s voting round (after the parliament decides for the third round day).
International pressure
A failure to elect a consunsus president could lead either to early elections, which not very likely, or another setback for what Mr. Berisha says is his top priority נEU accession.
Brussels has made the consensual election of a president – a mostly ceremonial post, although it officially heads the legal system and the armed forces – a litmus test for the detente between the government and opposition. A bitter standoff was sparked by disputed elections in 2009 and a riot in which police shot four protestors dead, and the Socialists boycotted parliament until a tentative peace deal was reached in late 2011.
The logjam has delayed several important reforms demanded by Brussels, and therefore has frozen the country’s bid to progress towards EU accession. Failure to find consensus in the next vote on a new president risks a third rejection of Tirana’s application for candidate status in as many years this autumn.
Albania has been in a political crisis since the 2009 parliamentary elections after the opposition Socialists accused the ruling Democrats of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of fraud.
Albania seems to be slipping into another institutional crisis. The opposition, which blocked the functioning of the assembly in the past, accused the governing majority of refusing to negotiate on a consensus candidate, which was one of the demands of the Socialists.
EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, has called on political parties to uphold their pledges made to the EU on reforms, sends a clear message.
The EU had called on Albanian parties to pass a package on electoral reform, for which negotiations started in November by May 24, before the process of the election of a new president started.
Fuele has said that the political parties had promised on his May 4 visit Tirana both to finalize reforms and agree on the election of a consensual president.
“Important pledges were made on my last visit in Albania and I believe the politicians and the political parties will do their best in order to meet these pledges,” he said.
The self-declared Nano candidacy the Socialists don’t want
Former opposition Socialist Party leader and Prime Minister Fatos Nano continues to remain in the presidential table. On Wednesday he continued his talks, or meetings for the case, this time with U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu.
But there have been media reports that Nano also threatened his Socialist party that he could again divide it if the Socialists don’t support him. It is not clear if that threat was real. After the meeting with Arvizu he said that unless elected as president, he would again enter politics and from “his heart” with the Socialists that remained there.
Nano withdrew from politics in 2005 when he lost to Berisha and resigned from all posts. Since then the party has been taken over by Edi Rama and the two don’t seem to get along very well. Nano did meet with Rama trying to urge him and the Socialists to offer him as a candidate for the presidential race. He said that if he was in the race he was sure he would win. The Socialists don’t appear to think that’s a good idea.
Nano has been the first to offer himself for the post of the president. But he does not seem to have the desire from his socialists.
The governing Democrats have been pushing to Socialists to offer Nano so they in turn can have a political candidate as well.
Ironically it was six Nano supporters who helped the Democrats five years ago elect President Bamir Topi, prompting the Socialists to expel them.
It was als Nano who urged Ilir Meta leave the Socialist Party and create the now coalition member Socialist Movement for Integration. It split left-leaning votes and led to the Democrats winning in 2005 and again in 2009, after which Meta joined the governing coalition.
Analysts note Nano cannot do any major damage to the Socialists now. If he tries to re-enter the party he would find a few supporters. He abandoned the party since 2005 and also has often behaved against it, supporting the governing Democrats and Berisha. So creating a fraction within the party would not be that easy and would only convince Rama more to sideline his supporters from the list of parliamentarians expected to be redrawn next year for the elections.
