TIRANA, Nov 5 /ATA/ Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha said today that the European Commission’s Progress Report on Albania highlights the adoption of draft laws put forward by the governing majority without transparency or public consultation.
He described this practice as evidence of a lack of transparency in Parliament and also addressed the election of the People’s Advocate.
“The report condemns the mafia-style laws introduced by Socialist Party representatives without any transparency and submitted directly for approval. Specifically, it states that draft laws frequently tabled at short notice by MPs from the governing majority undermined the quality and transparency of the legislative process, often bypassing public consultation. It also highlights the politicisation of appointments. They seized the position of the People’s Advocate, violating a 25-year-old tradition by electing the candidate with their own votes, as the report states,” he said.
Another issue raised by Berisha was the administrative-territorial reform. He said the reform, approved by the governing majority in the Special Committee, was moving towards centralisation of power and ran counter to European principles of local democracy.
According to Berisha, a territorial reform aimed at centralising power is unconstitutional and runs counter to the Council of Europe conventions signed by Albania.
“Regarding the ad hoc committee on administrative reform, the draft was approved by the votes of the governing majority and moved towards centralisation, effectively rejecting what has been achieved so far. If a draft law on administrative-territorial reform moves towards the principle of centralisation, it is unconstitutional. It is in flagrant violation of the conventions Albania has signed with the Council of Europe and of the European principles of local democracy,” Berisha said.
Berisha said the European Commission was calling for comprehensive electoral reform ahead of the 2027 local elections, involving all political parties and addressing transparency, political advertising, voter targeting and party financing, while also criticising the ruling majority over its takeover of the parliamentary Integration Committee.
“The report stresses the urgent need for comprehensive electoral reform. What does this mean? The reform must involve all political parties and cover all aspects of the electoral process. It must also include those taking to the streets, ahead of the 2027 local elections. Albania does not yet have such a framework, so it must ensure compliance with all relevant European Union legislation on elections, including rules on transparency, voter targeting, political advertising and all aspects of political party financing,” he said.
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