Posted On: 04/02/2010

The Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania has started in the Academy of Arts, in Tirana, a series of meetings with the topic “Albania in crisis, reasons for protest” through which he aims to explain the multifaceted political, economic and democracy crisis our country faces today.  During his opening speech, Rama invited all journalists to participate in these meetings and to convey to the public in simplest and detailed way the situation our country faces and the reasons of the political action on the part of the Socialist Party of Albania. Mr. Rama has declared that the SPA will sit at the table of the President of the Republic to achieve the opening of ballot boxes, as well as its determination to proceed with protests by warning Prime Minister Berisha to not use the dialog as a means to distract the opposition. Following the questions of the journalists, Rama spoke about the importance of the opposition action as a battle for the free vote and not in the name of power or against the Democratic Party, but as an opportunity to put an end for good the unacceptable history of election manipulations.
 
“The crisis in Albania is multifaceted and multidimensional. We have defined it as a crisis that is destroying the economy, the rule of law and democracy. The dialog would have been undoubtedly extended in all aspects of our public request if it was not conditioned with the non-opening of the ballot boxes.  So, in case that the investigation object would have been unconditioned and the majority of the committee composed by the opposition would have been allowed to investigate all the extension of the electoral process deformation then the dialog would have considered all the issues that comprise not only the transparency of the ballot boxes, but also all kind of pressure and manipulations prior and after this process. 
 
This is not the battle of SPA against DPA, but it is a battle for the free vote of every citizen in the country, a battle for fairness during the counting process and transparency of this process for the Albanian public opinion. In difference with any other theatre or show that is performed in front of the public, the Parliament constitutes the only show that is not directed by stage-manager but by the public, which defines the roles. In other shows like theatre, concerts, sport and so on, the roles are defined by the stage-manager or film director. The Parliament is the only show that is conditioned by the will of the public. 
 
However, at the moment when the public is deprived of its right to define the roles then the Parliament has no value and becomes a theatre as all other shows that differ from the Parliament in respect of entertainment. The Parliament is not entertaining, but a farce, and ugly show, a masquerade that is played in the name of democracy but in fact does not guarantee the democracy.  What does it mean to have more seats in opposition if the public is deprived from its role? It means nothing.

If everything would have been only a fruit of imagination, let’s consider it a political one, in the function of a political strategy  and it would have not been based on the reality, today we would not have had a power that since 28th of June is behaving twice time badly. How come that the opposition is out of the Parliament and the crisis is multifaceted, the Prime Minister is accused for the orchestration of the election theft attacks the agreements arranged before about the KKRT by dismissing the only member of the opposition, appointed in this body as result of the previous agreement, by appointing members that come from the cabinet of the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament at a time that the agreement aimed the KKRT balance?  A legitimate power does not act in this way. A power that has not touched the elections has no reason to act in this way. In the contrary, it allows the opposition to have its place and to say: “when you will be in the Parliament you can appoint your representative”.
 
There is not doubt that the dialog is useful at any time, and especially today. The SPA has made a very big compromise. It has witnessed the crime and nevertheless it accepts the result as an expression of the court decision. We have conditioned the joining of the Parliament with the election investigation not to oppose the court, but to overthrow a system that is only sophisticating, and it is difficult to be eradicated.