Smi Starts Referendum Process Collecting Signatures

TIRANA, May 13 – The Socialist Movement for Integration of former prime Minister Ilir Meta, a small opposition party, has started to collect signatures from Albanians all around the country asking for a referendum against the constitutional amendments in April supported by the two biggest political forces _ governing Democratic Party and main opposition Socialist Party.
Meta’s party and other allies collected thousands of supporters last weekend at Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square in a show of force, pledging they would start formally to collect signatures on holding a referendum, which asks for at least 50,000 persons to do that.
But despite that it is not clear whether such an effort could be successful.
Representatives of the two main parties have hinted that holding a referendum is not possible in an interpretation of the constitution.
Meta, on his side, has also started a nationwide tour to convince his supporters to sign the referendum request.
They were against the constitutional amendments that basically dealt with a new electoral system, a new procedure on electing the president and prosecutor general.
The SMI could not collect 28 signatures from parliamentarians to do that and turned into a popular move.