TIRANA, Jan 16 /ATA/ -The main opposition Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha reacted Tuesday to news reports by local media, reportedly quoting representatives of foreign embassies in Albania as saying that “the meetings with embassy officials are not part of any mediation process” to press ahead with the electoral reform in the country.
“On behalf of the Democratic Party, I would like to reiterate my gratitude for the support from Albania’s strategic partners – the United States of America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, as well as the OSCE-ODIHR – are providing for the electoral reform in Albania,” Basha said in the social networks.
“Thanks to this support, the Committee on the Electoral Reform is about to resume work after a long time of silence,” he added.
Basha said that open candidate lists, the vote equality, the vote of the Diaspora, and the e-voting and counting are the DP’s top priorities embodied in the package of legal proposals already filed with Parliament.
Answering to media interest regarding Basha’s statements, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana told the media earlier today: “As part of our normal diplomatic involvement with parliament members, the U.S. Embassy meets regularly with chairs, co-chairs and members of various parliamentary committees, including the Electoral Reform Committee. Meetings are not part of any mediation process. We are interested in an effective governance to implement ODIHR’s recommendations and we welcome the ideas of all responsible parties for this purpose.”
The Delegation of the European Union to Albania also said that “the EU has not been involved in any mediation effort” and underlined the need for implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.
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