TIRANA, May 9 – Albania’s ruling Socialist Party has officially launched its electoral campaign ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for June 18, 2017.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said its candidates represent a mixture of wisdom and experience and that the party will come out victorious and win a majority of seats in the assembly whether the opposition participates or not.
Strongly committing to continuing economic reforms, Rama promised to bring change in policy and economy by providing corruption-free governance and making Albania one of the easiest places in Europe to do business. Rama’s platform includes adding 220,000 new jobs and an economic growth of 5.5 percent per year by the end of his second mandate.
Rama said that the ruling majority had hoped the Democratic Party-led opposition would register for the elections within the legal deadlines. Rama added the opposition leader, Lulzim Basha, refused several offers issued during talks with President Nishani and international envoys.
During these talks, the government offered direct monitoring of the voting process with a task force made up of representatives of the opposition and monitors from the European Union, the United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
“We are determined to go to the June 18 polls. We will go on with economic and social reforms and we will complete justice reform. Democrats did not agree to enter elections fearing a separation from corrupt judges,” Rama said in his address at the Socialist Party convention held in the coastal town of Durres.
The convention was attended by five ministers of the cabinet and high level representatives who told supporters that the Socialist Party would open 220,000 new jobs in the next mandate.
Socialist Party representative Erjon Braà§e said that the party’s attempts to guarantee the rule of law are being attacked by several politicians and corrupt judges.
“We are determined to reform this country,” Braà§e said. “220,000 new jobs. This is our commitment. We will fight for every job, particularly for the young people. We will fight for this country.”
Minister of Finances Arben Ahmetaj vowed that the country’s economy would grow by 5.5 percent until the end of the next mandate.
“We will maintain public investments at 5 percent of the GDP. This means that in the second mandate we will invest an additional 2.8 million euros,” Ahmetaj said. “At the end of mandate we will increase wages by 40 percent for all civil servants and increase minimum wage to 30,000 Lek — 315,000 citizens will benefit from the wage hike.”
Ahmetaj added that the current results have been encouraging in substantial improvement in key macroeconomic indicators like GDP growth, inflation, fiscal deficit, current account deficit as well as foreign investments.
The finance minister said that public debt would be lowered under 60 percent as required by Albania’s international partners.
A track of broken promises
The Socialist Party-led majority has had a tough time delivering on dozens of campaign promises — and has broken several along the way, according to the political opposition and independent observers.
Rama had promised 300,000 new jobs in the previous mandate and created less than half that, including many jobs that were simply formalized and that existed before, critics say.
They also blame the prime minister’s governance with a massive outflow of more than 100,000 migrants who left Albania since he took over as prime minister.
The opposition Democrats have accused Rama of breaking at least 40 electoral promises, including the major pledge of providing 300,000 new jobs.
Opposition leader Lulzim Basha addressed his supporters Tuesday and compared the SP convention to an ugly show.
“The alliance of drugs and crime that filled Albania with drugs and its police with criminals is having its last breath. They are delivering this ugly show of hypocrisy,” Basha said.
The opposition has boycotted parliament since February, demanding Rama’s resignation before the June 18 elections out of fear that his Cabinet will manipulate the vote.
European envoys have not been able to persuade the opposition to change its stance.
