TIRANA, May 8 – Albania’s Central Elections Commission has voided the mayoral by-elections in Kavaja, following the withdrawal of the Socialist candidate and a boycott by the opposition. The elections will have to held at a later date.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said he had asked the candidate of the Socialist Party to withdraw from the race to prevent potential clashes during a massive planed protest by the opposition Democratic Party set for the day of the elections in Kavaja.
The opposition leader, Lulzim Basha, said the by-election postponement was a victory for the opposition, which has demanded elections, including the general ones scheduled of June 18, be supervised by a caretaker government not headed by Rama, whom the opposition accuses of using drug money and criminals to rig the votes.
In turn, Rama accused the opposition of seeking to destabilize the country.
“There is a plan to destabilize this country, that the [Democratic Party protest] tent has been set up to put this plan into effect, since those who are locked in the tent for fear of justice have others who love destabilization to harm Albania,” Rama said, adding that “stopping people to vote is a serious crime.”
The statements came as negotiations between Rama and Basha failed to provide a solution to the crisis, and Rama said the Socialists would go to the polls without the opposition.
Rama said the election date on June 18 can not be negotiated, and he will not accept the opposition’s demand for a technical government.
Rama’s decision to postpone the election was greeted by the country’s president and international representatives, who also called for a negotiated solution that would see all parties take part in the elections.
“The president appreciates the position of the Prime Minister on postponing the mayoral election as an opportunity to pursue political dialogue between the parties to find a compromise solution to the political crisis in the country,” President Bujar Nishani said in a statement.
The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that it supported Rama’s call for postponement of the Kavaja municipal elections in order to maintain the focus of the government and the opposition on the dialogue process.
“We encourage the continuation and acceleration of the dialogue process as there is limited time remaining before the June 18 elections to resolve these issues through negotiation,” the statements noted. “We support the rights of Albanians to peacefully protest and urge all sides to show restraint. We call on all parties not to engage in acts that could incite violence, particularly acts that affect citizens’ ability to participate in elections and exercise their right to vote. Violence has no place in the democratic process.”
Having canceled its protest in Kavaja, Albania’s opposition Democratic Party has called “for the largest protest rally to date” to take place in Tirana on Saturday.
