TIRANA, July 9 – Following the third parliamentary session to elect a new president, which has produced only one actual vote for president, it is increasingly possible that the country is edging towards early parliamentary elections.
The governing Democratic Party’s candidate, Bamir Topi, deputy leader of the governing Democratic Party-led coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, failed to win enough votes to become the country’s next president amidst an opposition boycott.
Topi won 75 votes, nine less than the 84 required to win the post. The Democrats have 80 seats in the 140-seat parliament, too few to overcome the opposition boycott.
Former Prime Minister and opposition Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano was also nominated for the post and won just three votes. Two others nominees were ruled invalid.
The Socialist Party-led coalition, now run by Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, boycotted the vote in protest after Berisha refused to vote for a military official proposed by the opposition when the official did not agree to support constitutional amendments Berisha had demanded.
The Democratic Party considered Nano’s nomination an independent, rather than a party-backed candidacy, and not covered by the coalition agreement.
Sunday’s vote was the first actual vote for a presidential candidate, since the first two sessions had only debated, but not voted for a candidate. Arjan Madhi of the election commission in the parliament referred to ‘the first vote’ when officially stating the results.
If the lawmakers fail to elect a president in five rounds, the parliament is dissolved and the country goes to early general elections within 60 days, according to the constitution.
Parliament may hold further votes before July 24, when the term of existing president, Alfred Moisiu, expires.
However, “The Socialist Party has switched on the engines for early elections,” said Rama.
“Albanians should be aware that (early) elections have only one instigator, the block of the fight against corruption by the person on top of the accusation (Sollaku),” said Berisha after casting his vote.
Measure to fire Sollaku causes Democrats to refuse to support presidential bid of Gen. Zaimi
TIRANA, June 8 – Two new candidates were nominated Sunday for the presidential election in parliament, after the governing majority did not accept a military official proposed by the opposition as a consensus candidate to be the country’s next president.
Bamir Topi, deputy leader of the governing Democratic Party-led coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, and former Prime Minister and opposition Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano ran for the post.
Earlier, Rama said they agreed with the governing majority to nominate Albania’s military representative to NATO, Brig. Gen. Arjan Zaimi, as a consensus candidate to be the country’s next president.
But Fatos Beja, the Democrats’ deputy speaker, said they had not reached a consensus because the opposition did not agree on a number of major reforms.
Berisha said they had first accepted Zaimi as a candidate but retracted this decision after the opposition did not agree to make the necessary amendments to fire Prosecutor General Theodhori Sollaku, whom he called “the main pillar of protection of crime and corruption.”
Since he came to power in September 2005, Berisha wanted to fire Sollaku claiming he had violated the constitution. But following a parliamentary investigation, President Alfred Moisiu refused the Democrats’ demand saying such accusations were not true.
