Albanian opposition leader Lulzim Basha has called for the vetting of politicians on the International Day against Corruption.
In a Twitter post, Basha, who is chairman of the Democratic Party, said that corruption is the cause of all the problems the country is facing. He added that it is time for a commitment and mobilisation of the whole society to move forward and clean up politics from those associated with crime and corruption.
“The reason why, unfortunately, Albania ranks nearer and nearer towards last for the things that make life easier and first for those that make it harder is corruption,” he wrote.
“It is corruption that impoverished citizens, that damages democracy, that depopulates the country, that kills confidence in the future,” he added.
He said that vetting in politics was necessary to create clean policies to support the wellbeing of Albanian people.
The idea of vetting politicians has been tabled several times over the years, but the PD submitted a proposal to parliament earlier this year. It included plans to make constitutional amendments that would see all politicians be vetted for value and source of assets, possible ties to criminal activity, and those with criminal records to be barred from office.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, himself at the centre of controversy over assets, refused to comment on the proposal, stating he would sit in talks with the opposition before the parliamentary vote.
For the proposal to pass, it would require bipartisan support as Rama’s socialists have a majority in parliament.
The Socialist Party also refused to consider the first proposal of politician vetting that was tabled in 2018. They claimed it would undermine new justice institutions such as the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK).
The new proposal suggests that SPAK do the investigating, thus eliminating the Socialists previous issue.
In October, the Head of the EU Delegation in Tirana, Luigi Soreca, admitted that he had not read the proposals and could not comment on them.
