In the debate following the local elections of 8 May, the Socialist and Democrat politicians remembered to each-other the countless events of vote frauds and manipulation schemes employed by both parties in the last twenty years for which none of them feels remotely sorry.
“Any tactical application of new counting rules, no matter how fair they might sound in isolation, would ex-post facto alter the rules of the game and risk plunging Albania into chaos”, – ICG noted in a report.
On June 2009, Albania held general elections and the right wing coalition of the Prime Minister Sali Berisha won narrowly. The thin majority of 71 MPs out of 140 was consolidated when the small left wing party, The Socialist Movement for Integration of former socialist Prime Minister Ilir Meta joined the ruling coalition.
Opposition in Albania started protests in several towns in the country in what he claims is a “rebellion against the dictatorship”, after the Central Election Commission introduced new rules on vote counting process for the last local election held in 8 May.
The protesters from the Socialist Party in Opposition abandoned their siege of the offices of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Tirana while CEC suspended its meeting over the votes casted in the wrong ballots. The situation is for the moment calm.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to “investigate” the situation on the votes casted in wrong ballots amid protests from the Socialist Party in opposition. The votes could change the results for the mayor of Tirana after closely fought election of the last 8 May.
Socialist MPs in opposition clashed today (18 May) with police forces near the offices of the Central Election Commission in Tirana, Albania, in the moment when the Central Election started to deliberate the procedures to determine the winner of the local elections held in 8 May.
The government of Albania had suspended its plans to increase the corporate profit tax rate for companies that have profit rates higher than 20 per cent of their turnover and is trying to modify the initial proposal, unofficial sources from the Ministry of Finance told to local television Top Channel on Friday