TIRANA – Parliament has adopted with 97 votes in favor the June 5 political agreement on electoral reform with the coalition of opposition parties expressing satisfaction that it was approved without any changes and pledging the continuation of political dialogue between the parties.
The majority MPs approved it with 74 votes in favor, while 23 ‘yes’ votes were from the parliamentary opposition groups in Thursday’s voting in plenary session of Parliament. The voting result showed that 6 MPs voted against the accord, 6 did not participate while 4 abstained.
The June 5 agreement provides for changes to the Electoral Code, which were approved after several months of deliberations in the Political Council between ruling SP, the parliamentary opposition and DP- led united opposition.
After the parliamentary vote a joint statement issued by the united extra- parliamentary opposition said the adoption of the June 5 agreement without changes and without unilateral constitutional amendments, as well as the continuation of political dialogue between the parties are the only way to maintain the consensus adding opportunities for the start of Albania’s accession talks with the EU.
The united opposition declared it was ready to continue the dialogue in good faith and seriously on any other issue without compromising the results of the June 5 agreement.
Parliament has on its agenda another agreement reached by SP and parliamentary opposition on the open election lists and the ban of pre- electoral coalitions, as well as on the new electoral threshold, which have been the bone of contention between SP and the DP- led united opposition. It is expected that these amendments to the Constitution will be voted on July 30 before Parliament’s recession.
The united opposition’s statement expressed gratitude to US, EU, UK and OSCE for their invaluable assistance and support in achieving a consensual Electoral Reform in line with international standards.
In the meantime foreign embassies involved in the mediation of the accord hailed Thursday’s development saying implementation is the key to success.
“We welcome the approval of amendments to the Electoral Code by the Albanian Parliament today in line with the agreement that parties reached on 5 June and based on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations,” said OSCE in Tirana on Thursday. It pointed out that as with every reform, implementation is the key.
“We stand ready to assist the Albanian authorities in this path, as well as with the development of further reform steps,” concluded the OSCE statement calling on all political forces to continue the dialogue about further reforms./argumentum.al
