The Democratic Party (PD) will be solely responsible for pre-selecting four presidential candidates during the second and third voting rounds, according to a recent deal between the Socialist majority and the opposition.
The agreement made between Socialist whip Taulant Balla and PD’s Enkeled Alibeaj stipulates that the PD will submit four candidates that the Socialist Party (PS) will then whittle down to two. A joint committee will select the final candidate to be presented to Parliament for a vote.
The second round of voting will take place on May 23rd at 6 p.m., after a first round lapsed with no candidate to vote for.
Balla met with opposition leaders throughout the week to hammer out a deal. The one reached on Wednesday means that the opposition will not be able to propose a candidate for the fourth and fifth round, with the PS having full power to elect a new President through simple majority.
On Thursday, some 30 members of the PD’s parliamentary group met for hours to discuss their options, and they have until Sunday 4 p.m. to present their four candidates.
Earlier last week, Prime Minister Edi Rama declared that if an unanimous decision is not reached between the parties, the Socialists will have no choice but to proceed with their own appointment.
Meanwhile, Alibeaj’s decision to sign a deal with the PS has been criticized by members of the so-called Refoundation Committee, a “splinter” of the Democratic Party initiated by former leader Sali Berisha and whose popularity means it represents the will of the majority of the party.
On Sunday, the PD’s Refoundation Committee is holding leadership elections, which Berisha is sure to win. It is unclear how they will influence the legitimacy of the Presidential elections given that Alibeaj—who has been representing the PD in the negotiations—was officially sacked during a recent assembly of the party’s highest decision-making body.
Furthermore, an outstanding court case is soon set to rule on the legitimacy of the national assemblies that remade the PD.
