Topi turns electoral law back to parliament

TIRANA, Dec 3 – Albanian President Bamir Topi has not approved an election law passed by the parliament, instead asking parliament to reconsider details on his competencies.
The new election law was passed by the parliament last month despite a hunger strike from some lawmakers of small political parties, saying it ignored their demands and could exclude them from parliament.
Topi said the new law, which sets the holding of general elections between March 15 and June 30 and also that the president should agree to their being held nine months ahead, gives him no time for such an agreement prior to the upcoming election.
The parliament’s vote followed constitutional amendments passed in April for a new voting system that assigns seats to the 140-seat parliament based more heavily on regional preference.
The new law reduces the number of representatives from small political parties in the electoral commissions counting the votes and also obliges them to create coalitions in order to win in the 12 electoral zones, unlike now when their percentage of votes was counted nationwide.
A parliamentary committee dominated by the governing Democratic Party and the main opposition Socialist Party needed months until early November to reach the final version.
Albania was invited to join NATO earlier this year and hopes the election reforms will signal a commitment to strengthen its democratic process–a condition for further integration with the European Union.
Albanians are sensitive to voting changes after enduring decades of oppressive Communist rule.
Polls have all been marked by irregularities and manipulation in post-communist Albania, considered to be a main shortcoming along the country’s integration efforts into international institutions.
“I believe that the Assembly (parliament) will reflect a maximal will to make the necessary corrections to avoid nonalignment with the timing set in the law,” said the president in a statement.
The president may reject a law passed by the parliament only once.
Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli, speaking from London where she was visiting, rebuffed Topi saying he had created an alliance with the small political parties, or the minority.
However, the main opposition Socialist party, though not accepting the reason Topi gave for revoking the law, said they were ready to immediately work on the required corrections in the law.