Albania Opposition Rejects Poll Results

Edi Rama

Tirana, 28 June 2009 – (AE) Albania Socialist Party rejected on Wednesday the June 28 parliamentary elections as corrupted by fraud and the new government as “morally illegitimate.”

The statement came after the gathering of the national assembly of the party, which reviewed the electoral process and came out with an official position on the problems that marred the poll.

The assembly approved a resolution sponsored from the socialist leader Edi Rama, arguing that the party loss in the poll was the results of irregularities present in the process.

The resolution’s approval by the assembly is seen as a personal victory for the Socialist leader who is currently under pressure to resign.

The Socialist Party gained 66 seats in the parliament on the general elections held in 28 June, five seats short of the parliamentary majority of 71.

Formally, a defeated leader should quit after the elections according to internal rules of the Socialist Party. Some analysts think that by declaring the elections manipulated, Rama would be better positioned to save his seat as party boss.

An extensive observer mission from several international institutions was present to monitor the elections.

An international election observation mission, from OSCE/ODIHR concluded that Albania’s election process demonstrated marked improvements, but also noted that problems persisted.

The observers were particularly critical toward media bias and tense climate during the electoral camping.

“It is unfortunate that the high level of distrust among parties, the use of official events for campaign purposes and allegations of pressure on voters did not increase public confidence in the election process,” said Ambassador Audrey Glover, head of the long-term election observation mission of the ODIHR, during a press conference, a day after polls closed.

Since the collapse of communism in 1991, electoral processes have been marred by fraud, violence and procedural irregularities. The June 28 poll was seen as key for Albania hopes to further advance in its integration process toward EU membership.

Short URL: http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/?p=1952

Posted by editor on Jul 30 2009. Filed under General News, Top News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry