Speaking at a meeting of the DP’s National Council, Berisha said the delay in holding the forum after the election had one purpose only: safeguarding the vote of Albanian citizens.

He reiterated his long-standing claim that free elections were impossible under Prime Minister Edi Rama, saying a contest between political parties and what he described as the “electoral state” could not be considered a genuine race.

“When a contest is held between political parties and the state, it is not an election but a farce,” he said.

He accused the government of misusing public resources during the campaign, including the distribution of financial assistance, the cancellation of fines and the mobilisation of the state administration.

“If a government hands out money for votes, forgives billions of euros in fines and mobilises the administration, it is not holding elections but staging a farce,” Berisha said.

Berisha said the opposition lacked the power to stop the process but had a duty to document it, adding that the OSCE/ODIHR election observation report confirmed the opposition’s concerns.

He said the opposition had avoided convening the party council immediately after the vote to prevent diverting attention from the findings of international observers.

Concluding, Berisha said DP would launch a thorough political review focused on the future, with the aim of building a party capable of toppling what he called the current regime as a precondition for free elections.

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Speaking at a news conference, Berisha said the resolution was adopted on Thursday in Washington at the forum of the International Democrat Union (IDU), a global alliance of around 80 centre-right and right-wing political parties that is de facto led by the U.S. Republican Party.

“A major new event has taken place in the denunciation of the first and only narco-state in Europe – a regime that has turned elections into an electoral farce, that uses the prosecution as a political weapon against the opposition, and that has built a narco-state in Albania as a serious threat to the security of the region, Europe and beyond,” Berisha said.

He said the IDU forum adopted the Albania resolution unanimously and without amendments, marking the seventh international resolution over a 14-month period in which centre-right political forces worldwide have voiced full support for Albania’s opposition.

“These resolutions are powerful backing for the Albanian opposition, which confronts every day a regime built on drugs and the narco-state,” Berisha said.

He added that Western political forces had never before used such direct language on Albania as in the resolution adopted on Dec. 5 in Washington.

“Unlimited gratitude to our friends and a solemn pledge to Albanians that nothing in the world can defeat the Democratic Party and the Albanian opposition before it fulfils its mission – strong resistance to the narco-state and its removal from power as soon as possible,” he said.

Turning to internal party developments, Berisha said the party’s public forums, known as the “Foltorja” meetings, are meant to enable open debate with supporters.

“We record their proposals and note their criticisms so that we can improve,” Berisha said. “But it would be neither fair nor realistic to claim that these forums alone exhaust the necessary internal debate and analysis of our work. That process will take place in every cell of the party.”

He said the party would not engage in witch hunts but would also not ignore accountability.

“There will be discussion, dozens and hundreds of discussions. Yes, we will tell each other the truth, we will provide explanations, we will be held accountable. This is necessary,” he said.

Berisha said the protection of votes was of “vital importance not only for the Democratic Party, but for Albania”, adding that every member of the party would be subject to internal review.

“Some things our activists and supporters rightly demand answers for; others we must explain to them because they are not informed. But there are also those who rush to demand analysis now only to provide material to Edi Rama to weaken our position. These people serve the denial of the electoral farce and the authoritarian dictatorship,” he said.

Commenting on reports of private meetings involving party figures Ervin Salianji and Ilir Alimehmeti, Berisha said such meetings do not concern him.

“No private meetings impress me. Every voice will be heard within the party forums – that is my duty and a core democratic principle,” he said. “But those who choose private routes have made their choice.”

Berisha added that he had met with Alimehmeti at the latter’s request, while Salianji had not sought a meeting.

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