 Europe speaking about the ballot boxes
 Following the meeting with the Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Edi Rama, the press office of the President of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament, MEP Martin Schulz, has issued a press release on the political crisis in Albania. In this official declaration it is expressed the support for the roundtable under the auspices of the President of the Republic, as well as for the full transparency of the June 28th elections, including the opening of the ballot boxes, as a serious and necessary step towards the finding of a solution to the political crisis.
“Mr. Schulz and Mr. Rama agreed that a way out of the current political crisis in Albania must be found urgently and that a new basis for a constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition must be established. It was therefore agreed that the opposition will return to the Parliament at the very moment that a decision is taken to establish a parliamentary investigation committee, which will conduct a full investigation, including the opening of ballot boxes, into the way in which the 2009 parliamentary elections were held.” ... read more |
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 Strasbourg, Swoboda: Ballot boxes should be opened, full investigation should be undertaken
Edi Rama and a group of socialist MPs had a meeting with the Vice-Chairman of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament, MEP Hannes Swoboda. During his declaration, MEP Swoboda said the government should act in interest of the peace and stability the country needs.
“The government has to act and say Ok, let’s have full transparency. The government should be ready to be open and transparent including the openness of the boxes, of ballot boxes, because that would really show who is right in saying there was some cheating or there were no cheating at all.” ... read more
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EU Statement on Albania
The Socialist Party reacted to the decision by the Constitutional Court to repeal the lustration law adopted by the Berisha government. MP Ligori stated that this was the 17th case in the 4 years of Berisha’s government that the Constitutional Court has repealed laws that run counter to the country’s Constitution. MP Ligori expressed the readiness of the Socialist Party to contribute to the drafting of a new law, but she said that “The new law should first and foremost respect the Constitution and the recommendations of the Venice Commission. The investigation of the crimes of the past should not be used in order to cover the sins of the present.”
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US Embassy supports the efforts of President Topi
The US Embassy in Tirana through press release has reiterated the support of the United States for efforts of President of the Republic, Bamir Topi, and the Council of Europe to mediate the ongoing political impasse highlighting that the resolution of the stalemate will enable the parties to focus on Albania’s Euro-Atlantic agenda.
The United States fully supports the efforts of President Topi and the Council of Europe to mediate the ongoing political impasse. In this context, we commend Albanian President Topi’s leadership in overseeing the discussions between government and opposition that will begin on February 13.
We believe this process offers an important opportunity to resolve without further delay the current political stalemate. We call on all parties to avail themselves of this opportunity. A rapid resolution of the stalemate will enable the parties to focus on Albania’s Euro-Atlantic agenda
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Strasbourg, Roucek: Transparency leads to the solution of the crisis
In the course of his visit in Strasbourg, the Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Edi Rama, has received the support by the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Libor Roucek, about one of the fundamental requests of the Opposition – the opening of the ballot boxes.
During his declaration, MEP Roucek has expressed his support for the negotiating table under the auspices of the President of the Republic and declared that the opening of few ballot boxes would help for the solution to the crisis and would prevent similar problems to happen in the upcoming elections ... read more
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Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania welcomes the organization of the political roundtable
In the framework of the consultations regarding the roundtable to be held on 13 February, the Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Robert Bosch, had a meeting with President of the Republic, Bamir Topi. Ambassador Bosch has expressed the OSCE support for the role of the President.
"The OSCE Presence in Albania warmly welcomes the Albanian President's initiative to organize a political roundtable meeting on Saturday as a constructive and encouraging step toward resolving the current political impasse. We also welcome the positive public responses from the leaders of the Democratic Party and Socialist Party in regard to their full and active participation to jointly consider ways in which the difficulties can be overcome."
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