Second political victim murdered ahead of elections

TIRANA, June 13 – An activist from Albania’s ruling Democratic Party was shot dead by a political opponent last week, two weeks ahead of legislative elections on June 28, according to police. Police say a 32-year-old governing Democratic Party supporter died in a hospital after being shot with an assault rifle Friday. A 45-year-old suspect has been arrested.
The shooting happened in Qerret, a village some 30 kilometers west of Tirana, after an argument over political symbols used in campaigning, police spokesman Klodian Branko said.
“Skender Balla, a supporter of the Socialist Party, opened fire on 32-year-old Artan Zeka who was seriously injured and died several hours later in hospital,” Branko told reporters in Tirana.
It seemed unwise on the part of police to identify the victim and the alleged killer as affiliates to the two opposing political parties, though at the end of the statement they did mention that Balla was only a ‘suspect.’
Police officers arrested the attacker, who was to be charged with pre-meditated murder and the illegal possession of firearm.
The murder was the second since early May when a Socialist lawmaker was shot dead near his house. Police are yet to identify the killer.
Since the fall of communism in the early 1990s, all elections in Albania have been plagued by violent disputes and marred by other incidents.
Albania took its first small step towards joining the European Union when it submitted its candidacy in late April after it had become a NATO member earlier that month.
Some 3.1 million voters will be asked to elect 140 deputies to parliament, choosing between 4,000 candidates representing 39 parties and political coalitions.
Both the governing Democrats and the main opposition Socialists condemned the killing and appealed to their supporters not to mar the election campaign with violent incidents.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha called on all Albanians to “distance themselves from criminal acts and be committed to a proper electoral campaign.”
The Socialists’ leader Edi Rama also expressed his regrets for the death but also added that his party had nothing to do with the alleged link to the alleged killer.
In the June 28 polls conservative Berisha will face a challenge from Socialist leader and Tirana mayor Edi Rama.