TIRANA – Two things have been excluded by Prime Minister Edi Rama in majority’s future political platform: a transitional government before the 2021 general elections and a coalition with the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI).
Rama announced them in a press conference on Tuesday refusing the idea of a transitional government launched by the opposition Democratic Party (DP). A transitional joint government, modeled after that of North Macedonia to be formed three months before elections is the major demand in a set of proposals put forward by DP to the Commission on the Electoral Reform. According to opposition, it would not give up its request for such a government that would guarantee the respect of the Electoral Code during the upcoming elections.
“The opposition is within its rights to ask for such a government, but it will not ultimately materialize,” was the answer of Rama ruling out any transitional government.
Earlier, Socialist majority representative Damian Gjiknuri claimed that this request had nothing to do with the reform and negotiating on it was not within his authority.
Prime Minister Rama’s statement on Tuesday noted that the Electoral Reform will be focused on OSCE-ODIHR’s recommendations: “This is not about accepting opposition’s proposals but it’s about accepting OSCE’s recommendations.”
He stated that they put in place a nonpartisan election administration, and a requirement for judges of the Electoral College (the body that review election complaints) to be vetted before appointment, despite opposition’s disagreement on both proposals.
Turning to the hearsay on a coalition between the Socialist Party (SP) and the Socialist Movement for Integration in the elections of 2021 Rama said he excluded such a possibility which, as he said, does not constitute a perspective for an alliance.
“Never say never in politics. But I do not see a coalition with the party of the President (Ilir Meta) because the current context, the continuous degradation of that political force and our programmatic obligations… make totally uninteresting this perspective. I exclude it,” said sharply Rama.
In a tit-for-tat reaction on Rama’s ‘exclusion’ the SMI Deputy Chairman, Petrit Vasili turned down the scheme on an eventual coalition. “SMI is and will always be only with the people in face and against Edi Rama, drug dealers and oligarchs,” said Vasili, who said that Rama is seized by the drug dealers and oligarchs.
“Shocking days expect Edi Rama who is now abandoned even by his clients of narcotics and PPPs,” said Vasili. He ended his statement with this sentence: “Edi Rama has lost even the time to go…! /argumentum.al
