At the Stabilization and Association Commission in the European Parliament in Brussels, Gazment Bardhi has raised the concerns of the opposition, saying that the parliament has been dysfunctional for 3 months, as he added that the majority has not extended a hand for dialogue, but only increased arrogance. .
He said, among other things, Bardhi also mentioned the stalemate of the Electoral Reform, where he said it is related to Albania’s need for free and fair elections.
White’s Word:
Thank you Mr President,
I believe we all agree that European integration is a common objective of the majority and the opposition. I want to clarify, also to be clear, that in fact the reasons for the lack of normality currently in the assembly are found in the latest progress report of the European Commission.
As evidenced there, the abnormal situation, or the abnormal functioning of the parliament, is related to some constitutional rights that the opposition MPs have. It is not true that we filed 8 requests for an investigative commission at the same time. We have submitted 8 requests for an investigative commission during the 2 years of this legislature and what exactly is the truth behind that investigative commission that colleague Majko mentioned was successful and thanks to his work the special prosecutor’s office managed to prove corruption charges against some former officials, for what is called the affair of the incinerators. From that moment, the majority stopped any establishment of investigative commissions requested by the opposition. There are 8 in total and only in the last session, 3 requests for investigative commissions were rejected within 1 week. 4 requests for interpellation by the country’s prime minister on matters of interest to the public were rejected. 31 draft laws of the opposition MPs are kept unreviewed, while as for the laws commissioned by the MPs or colleagues of the majority, they are approved without being put on the calendar, without passing 2 weeks from their filing in the parliament.
This is the reason why today the opposition MPs have not allowed the normal functioning of the parliament without restoring those rights that are recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Albania. I appreciate the words of my colleague Majko who is ready for dialogue even in response to the call of our international partners, here too I heard a call for dialogue, but in fact during these 3 months of the absence of the normal functioning of the parliament we have not found the path of dialogue or the outstretched hand for dialogue from the majority, but we have seen the increase of aggressive, arrogant measures towards the opposition. Unilateral changes in the regulation of the Assembly or unilateral changes in the law on investigative commissions are not an outstretched hand for dialogue, but are a clear message of the lack of will to find a solution, to respect the constitutional rights of the opposition.
Another issue that has in fact brought the assembly into a deadlock is related to Albania’s need for free and fair elections. As the European Commission’s report shows, for 22 months in the Assembly of Albania we have agreed to set up a bipartisan commission to carry out the electoral reform, which has been blocked, has not carried out any activities, has not held any meetings. If you analyze the last 2 reports of the OSCE ODIHR observer mission, you will see issues that call into question the guarantee of standards for free and fair elections in Albania. Either the 2021 report or the 2023 report evidences the phenomenon of vote buying, misuse of state resources or abuse of public administration employees in order to intimidate voters or guide votes. This is an issue that will have to be addressed through the electoral reform, but unfortunately during these 22 months, the commission’s work has been prevented from producing a product that would guarantee Albania free and fair elections next year.
However, yes, I agree that the justice institutions, as my colleague Majko pointed out, are investigating a former deputy prime minister who is currently on the run, we don’t know where he is, a former minister of the environment or a former minister of the interior, but I believe we agree that each of them, at the moment when he was investigated a few months before being investigated by the prosecutor’s office, was dismissed by the prime minister, which calls into question the prime minister’s knowledge of the investigations that were being carried out by the justice institutions. No official currently in office, i.e. no minister, even though there are accusations against them, no mayor against whom there are accusations and investigations turns out to have been investigated by the prosecution.
However, I have said it and I want to repeat it here, for us in the opposition, the urge to the institutions of justice to act in accordance with the law and to bring to justice anyone who has abused the law with facts and evidence, has always been and will continue to be remains so.
Thank you!
