TIRANA, June 4/ATA/ A high-level delegation from the Democratic Party, headed by its leader Sali Berisha, held a meeting yesterday with Richards Kohls, a member of the European Parliament from the ECR Group and part of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET).
The DP press office reported that during the meeting, Berisha presented a clear overview of what he described as the dramatic situation of democracy in Albania, with particular emphasis on developments before, during and after the Parliamentary elections of May 11.
The DP reported that he denounced the extreme concentration of power in the hands of Prime Minister Edi Rama, emphasizing that all the main opposition leaders have been arrested, prosecuted or face political charges, in a repressive and unprecedented climate for a candidate country for membership in the European Union.
Berisha stressed that the May 11 elections were not only a profound violation of democratic principles and the Electoral Code, but a complete electoral farce, conducted under conditions of political terror, misuse of institutions and criminal interference.
He mentioned what he called a series of documented facts that prove a systematic model of electoral manipulation, including massive vote buying through the use of public funds and illegal contracts, the activation of the Socialist Party’s patronage network and the misuse of personal data for electoral pressure, the infiltration of organized crime groups in the electoral process in over 10 regions and over 20 municipalities, in support of around 30 SP candidates.
According to the DP, Berisha denounced the efforts of Edi Rama and Foreign Minister Igli Hasani to influence the change of the preliminary report of international observation missions through threats and pressures on observers.
For his part, the DP reported, MEP Rihards Kols said he was well-informed about the developments in Albania and expressed an interest in pursuing the issues that cross the borders of Albania, both through questions to the EC Commissioners and the establishment of a fact-finding mission in Albania to directly evaluate the situation in the country.
The meeting emphasized that Albania’s path towards the European Union cannot move forward without the restoration of democratic standards, the guarantee of free and fair elections and the separation of powers as the foundation of a functional democratic system. /j.p/p.s./
