Albanian Opposition Leader Basha Hints at Election Boycott during EPP Summit

Maastricht, Oct 21 (Tirana Echo) – Albanian Opposition Chairman Lulzim Basha has warned EPP leaders that his Democratic Party may boycott upcoming elections in Albania unless free and fair elections are guaranteed, adding that the drug cartel problem has taken hostage the country’s politics.

Speaking at the European People’s Party (EPP) meeting of EU and non-EU leaders in Maastricht, Democratic Party Chairman Basha said that the increasing cannabis cultivation and the rise of organized crime in Albania puts Albania’s democracy and the stability of the region in danger.

“It is clear now that what Edi Rama’s government is trying to hide inside Albania, has crossed the borders into a huge international problem. The problems of drugs, crime and its links to politics are now at the center of EU’s attention. Political will is needed for a solution, and this is why we ask your support in creating the necessary conditions for free and fair elections”, Basha told EPP leaders in Mastricht.

Basha used the EPP summit to accuse Prime Minister Edi Rama of criminalizing state structures and having links with drug traffickers.

“The lack of implementation of decriminalization law is strongly linked to his (Rama) project to use traffickers and criminals to deform voters’ will in the upcoming elections” said Basha, who reminded his EPP sister parties that narco-trafficking infrastructure can easily be converted into a terrorist structure, which in a NATO country would be unacceptable.

Albania’s opposition Democratic Party has toughened its rhetoric in past weeks, accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government of involvement in what seems to be an unexpected surge of cannabis cultivation across the country.

The DP claims that electoral zones will be controlled by drug barons who in gratitude to Rama’s government for turning a blind eye to the cannabis production, will pay back with enough votes to secure Rama another mandate in the upcoming June 2017 general elections.

Last week, DP Parliamentary Group Chairman Edi Paloka suggested that under such conditions “our stay in Parliament does not make sense anymore”.

The government denies DP’s claims arguing that in order to hide their poor performance in opinion polls, Basha is trying to come up with excuses to justify their massive expected loss in the coming elections.

Basha made his latest comments in Maastricht where EU and non-EU leaders of the European People’s Party (EPP) met ahead of today’s European Council. Russia’s involvement in Syria and eastern Ukraine, Greece’s incapacity to swiftly process asylum applications as agreed in the EU-Turkey deal and the pending trade deal with Canada were the main topics on the EPP’s Summit agenda.

EPP leaders also discussed the migration issue and the different routes being used to reach Europe, where the Balkan route has been a major challenge for the EU to manage, in fear of large numbers of refugees flowing into other EU member states.