Rama Insists On Boycott

TIRANA, Sep 22 – Main opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama insists that the main opposition political grouping will end the parliament boycott only if the ruling majority of the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha agrees for an investigative commission to check the suspected ballot boxes.
Rama is continuing his nationwide tour, together with his rival for the party’s top post Maqo Lakrori, holding daily meetings in the main cities in the country.
Besides the topic of who should run the party’s post, Rama insists that no one should doubt about the main goal of the parliament’s boycott.
The Socialists have asked the governing Democrats to pass a special law on creating an investigative parliamentary commission that should be led by them to check a number of ballot boxes. Rama insists that such a transparency should be done now or never, or the country is to have always ‘deformed’ voting.
The Socialists won 65 seats and their ally, the Human Rights Union Party, one. Governing Democrats and their two smaller allies won 70 seats. The other leftist Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) of Ilir Meta won four seats but it has created a governing coalition with Democrats.
Rama also harshly criticizes the LSI for joining that coalition based on personal profit, as he says, also including former Socialist leader Fatos Nano being on their side playing behind the scenes, trying to damage the opposition party.
Rama has always said they will fight for such a request with all democratic tools, not explaining exactly what that means. Many have also hinted the Socialists may start street protests, though not adding whether the militants and the people will be so ready for that.
On the other side, Prime Minister Sali Berisha continues to make repeated calls for the opposition to end the boycott while considering their request as illogical.
Berisha has repeatedly said that the place for the opposition is in parliament. He is also accusing the opposition that their move is to undermine the efforts to get the visa-free regime for the country.
At the same time the country is expecting o learn whether the European Union is to consider its request for the candidate status it made in late April.
In October, Brussels is expected to present the annual progress report for the country which serves as the road map on what the country should do along its integration path.
Rama’s opponents also insist that the parliament boycott is more damaging than helpful to the party’s fight and its image. They have even hinted they might unilaterally abandon the boycott.
But in response to them Rama has said that if they do that they are automatically excluded from the party ranks, the same move done two years ago when a group of six Socialist lawmakers joined their votes with those of the Democrats to elect the country’s president.