TIRANA, Nov 13 /ATA/ The Democratic Party convened its parliamentary group to review the work of the Electoral Reform working group and assess OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. Berisha said that Albanian authorities had addressed almost none of the recommendations, adding that progress depended on agreement between both sides in the bipartisan committee.
Berisha said the Democratic Party was determined to use Electoral Reform to address all the issues which, in its view, demonstrated electoral fraud and the conduct of elections under what he described as a “narco-state”.
“Electoral Reform is a process through which the DP is determined to address all the serious concerns that, it argues, demonstrate that the elections in Albania were an electoral sham and were held under the conditions of a narco-state,” he said.
He stressed the need for the opposition to unite behind Electoral Reform, saying that the priority would not be the DP’s interests but the establishment of a common opposition front. Berisha also addressed the issue of the intertwining of the state and the ruling party.
According to Berisha, a clear separation between the party and the state was a fundamental condition for ensuring free and fair elections. He said the DP’s working group, led by Oerd Bylykbashi, had prepared an Electoral Reform document, which would be supplemented with amendments and proposals for concrete measures and sanctions.
Berisha argued that free and fair elections were impossible without separating the ruling party from the state, insisting that Rama’s departure was essential to changing the political situation. He called for opposition unity around Electoral Reform and ruled out the DP boycotting elections on its own.
Berisha said the DP would not participate in elections without a separation of the ruling party from the state and Electoral Reform, warning that a unilateral boycott would benefit the ruling majority. He called on all opposition parties to contribute to the reform process, assuring them that the DP was willing to consider their proposals and prioritise opposition unity over its own interests.
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