What is expected after local elections

TIRANA, Feb. 22 – The Feb. 18 local elections will very likely bring about important developments to the country’s next political agenda. The elections first showed that the undecided electorate may be very much the decisive factor in all the upcoming voting in the country. The government and the opposition should pay attention to this grouping which has increased during post-communist Albania. Berisha’s central government should now cope with new challenges.
Everyone believes there will be a government reshuffle in a show that the executive branch will try to correct itself. This has been mentioned before the campaign by Berisha himself but also confirmed these days by many politicians, like the Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu, also leader of the rightist Republican Party, that a government reshuffle would be made soon. Many believe that Berisha will pass the blame of the polls’ loss to his ministers who lost ground in their territories instead of himself. Now Berisha must cope with a new fragmentation of his political party, his leadership. Besides, he now confronts a stronger Rama and opposition. In another truly democratic country it would be no surprise if the prime minister resigned from the post following a loss in local elections. In other countries like the United States such elections would serve as an indicator of who would win the next presidential and parliamentary race. Albania still needs a lot of time and maturity to reach those levels.
For the opposition, or better say, the opposition Socialists, that means a stronger Rama against his predecessor Fatos Nano, who seems far from regaining his party post. Rama is now stronger among his party ranks and leadership and may well place his close aides in top political positions.
The opposition has long said that they will ask for early elections. The opposition say the parliamentary majority does not have three-fifth of the 140 seats to elect a new president, and unless there is no winner in five rounds the country goes to early parliamentary elections. It seems that the Socialist Movement for Integration is very much interested in that. If there would be parliamentary elections and they won, then it would be MSI’s leader Ilir Meta to run a new government. Rama would very likely continue to hold the mayor’s post. That very likely seems to have been the deal when the Socialists and Meta’s party signed the alliance.
But the international community made it clear the country cannot go to new elections unless there is “a determined effort to establish a reliable system for civil registration before the next elections” and urged political parties not to abuse the issue in their debates.