Albania Crisis – Ruling Majority ask Electoral Commission to Postpone Party Registration Deadline

Tirana, Albania | Tirana Echo – Albania’s ruling coalition partners the Socialist Party (PS) and the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) have asked the Central Elections Commission (CEC) to postpone electoral registration deadlines, amid opposition boycott of parliament and disagreements within coalition partners.

As the deadline for pre-electoral coalition to register for upcoming elections runs out tonight, ruling partners SP and LSI have decided to ask the CEC to give them more time to negotiate with opposition Democratic Party currently boycotting parliament and refusing to participate at upcoming June 18 general elections.

In a letter sent to the CEC last night, parliamentary chairs of SP and LSI Gramoz Ruci and Luan Rama said that “the socialist party, the socialist movement for integration and other parties of the Alliance for a European Albania are in constant efforts to negotiate with the opposition in order to enable the participation at upcoming elections of the entire political spectrum of the country. In this sociopolitical context we ask the CEC’s position on the possibility to postpone the deadlines for the registration of political parties as electoral subjects and for the registration of electoral coalitions as of articles 64 and 65 of the electoral code of Albania.”

Albania risks its upcoming June general elections as the deadline for pre-electoral coalitions to register runs out by midnight with no agreement between ruling SP and LSI at sight. Meanwhile, the first deadline for political parties to register as electoral subjects has already run out on April 9th with all opposition parties refusing to participate.

Albania has been paralyzed by 50 days of opposition protests who demand Rama’s resignation and the creation of a technical government which should assure free and fair elections. Opposition democrats blame the spread of cannabis cultivation and criminal dirty money as a major threat to upcoming elections scheduled for June 18.

Although the prime minister has made several calls for talks, opposition democrats have asked for Rama’s departure as the nonnegotiable condition for any talks to take place.

Meanwhile, Rama’s junior partner the LSI has called for dialogue and has conditioned the continuation of their governing coalition with Rama’s socialists on the reformatting of the government into a more trustworthy team of ministers accepted by the opposition.

LSI chair Ilir Meta has also called for free and fair elections and has expressed concerns on drug cultivation and trafficking which has tripled in the past two years.

It is unclear whether the CEC has the right to postpone two constitutional deadlines which are dependent on the presidential decree of June 18th as the date for parliamentary general elections in the country.

However ruling center-left allies have argued that the postponement of both deadlines would not affect the quality of elections and would create the environment for a more inclusive electoral process.