TIRANA, April 17 /ATA/ –By I. Vata/ – The chairman of the Socialist Party’s parliamentary group Taulant Balla reiterated Wednesday that the ruling majority was open to engage in any kind of dialogue, “as long as dialogue respects the legitimate and democratic mandates of the country’s institutions.”
Balla underlined that no previous governing majority has been so open to dialogue and cross-party consensus on the electoral reform.
“Albania is currently in a crucial process of its European integration aspiration and as such it is imperative that we address the OSCE/ODIR recommendations and reflect them in our election legal framework. To this end, I want to inform that the opposition MPs have requested to be part of the discussions on the electoral reform. I have forwarded a request, asking Parliament to extend the deadline of the Parliamentary Commission on Electoral Reform and we welcome representatives of the parliamentary opposition to fill nine vacated seats in the Commission. Meanwhile, we have provided the Democratic Party the opportunity to send its representative to the Commission on Electoral Reform, giving the opposition the veto right,” he said.
Speaking about changes to the Electoral Code and possible amendments to the Constitution, Balla noted that the ruling Socialist Party lacks the required majority of votes, yet it is open to discussions with the opposition lawmakers in Parliament.
“I hope that together with the opposition MPs we will clearly identify the recommended changes to the Electoral Code,” he said.
Socialist lawmaker called on the political parties to register for the upcoming June 30 local elections in the country, as a registration deadline is expected to expire on April 21.
“I appeal to political parties to register for the June 30 polls. Based on the information I have received, some 25 political parties have been registered for the June 30 elections to date,” he said.
/a.g/u.sh/
