Tirana Mayor Basha, Transport Minister Olldashi first to apply for place in elections to be held in September under one-member-one-vote rule
TIRANA, July 3 – Following its defeat in the July 23 general elections, the Democratic Party is preparing to select a new leader, with Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha and Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi the first to apply to succeed the party’s historic leader, Sali Berisha, who resigned from the post last week after taking responsibility for the defeat.
Olldashi was first to apply, followed by Basha a day later. The application deadline is July 5, and at least two other members with lower public profiles had also applied.
The election will be held in September under the one-member-one-vote rule.
Analysts say it will be a hard transition for the new leader to run the party after such a strong legacy by Berisha, who dominated the party for more than two decades.
Basha and Olldashi – both young politicians נhave seen quick rises in the ranks of the Democrats once they became involved in politics. They are both seen as deeply loyal to Berisha, but many media analysts say it is Basha that’s Berisha’s handpicked successor eventhough the two men have very different leadership styles.
Both Basha and Olldashi have been in races against the newly-elected Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama in elections for Tirana mayor.
Olldashi has more experience in parliament, with four MP mandates under his belt, but he is seen by analysts more as a core supporter or activist’s choice rather than a general popular figure with voters.
Basha on the other hand has proven popular with Albanians in general as a modern leader that has promised to move away from the politics of conflict.
“Basha is the most western figure in the DP. He was one of the most successful foreign ministers in post-communist Albania, if not the most successful. But the key argument for him relates to the future of politics in Albania,” says Albert Rakipi of the Albanian Institute for International Studies. “With Berisha’s departure, Albania has ended an era and a political model that was supported primarily by conflict. That is now something that should belong to the past. The future of the politics in Albania needs to be based on consensus, and Basha is the right person with the right capacity for this new political model.”
Rakipi added that any candidate that would follow Berisha’s leadership style, would be a failed one. That would not be beneficial not only for the DP but for Albania in general.
The way the election is expected to take place is also meant to show internal democracy in a party that has been heavily criticized for not having one under Berisha’s leadership.
Berisha, the Democratic Party’s perennial leader, told the party’s leadership Thursday the grouping should return to being a strong and moral opposition.
Another application for the leadership race, by Aleksander Biberaj, was turned down as Biberaj had joined a newly created party last year, the New Democratic Spirit of former President Bamir Topi. Biberaj left it before the June elections following disputes with its leadership. However, the Democratic Party officials said Biberaj no longer qualified for membership.
