Rama re-elected Socialist leader, insists on boycott

TIRANA, Sep 28 – Edi Rama was re-elected at the head of the main opposition Socialist Party leader after last Saturday’s election.
Some 82,000 party members were called to cast their vote whether they would like to have Rama or Maqo Lakrori as their leader for the next four years.
Predominantly, or 93 percent voted in Rama’s favor. There was a 68 percent turnout in the vote.
Socialists voted in some 380 ballot boxes countrywide but only on Monday the party was able to show exact figures on the vote.
(One may really wonder: how’s that? What about a nationwide vote?)
Based on the statute the party’s leader is suspended from the post if they lose in the parliamentary elections. Rama was formally suspended though he was practically running the grouping every day.
Rama and Lakrori went around the country presenting their ideas. It was very much expected it would be easy for Rama to regain the post. Lakrori, a much-respected politician, has been very behind-the-scenes in the last four years.
Once a former minister and also a senior party leader Lakrori did not have that personality to cope with Rama.
Rama has had strong opposition within his party. Five lawmakers have already come out as his opponents in the party claiming they should go back to parliament and also asking Rama to bear a large part of the blame for the loss at the June 28 election.
On Monday Rama also insisted that the party would continue to boycott the parliament asking for an investigative commission to check the doubtful ballots in a series of ballot boxes claimed by them.
The Socialists have asked the governing Democrats to pass a special law 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.
Socialists won 65 votes and their smaller ally Human Rights Union Party one. Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democrats won 68 votes and their allies – Republican and Justice and Integration parties – one each taking their number to 70 as they were in one coalition. The other four votes were won by the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) of Ilir Meta who agreed to a coalition and is now part of Berisha’s cabinet.
Rama has also blamed their once smaller ally, the LSI, for joining ranks with Berisha whom Meta and his party had previously targeted as their ‘enemy’ to take the throne. He also included former Socialist leader Fatos Nano, which he replaced in 2005, for joining ranks with Berisha. Nano has been very critical of Rama.
Rama will have the party’s post for the next four years.
The local elections of 2011 will be a critical test for him.