The recently re-elected chairman of the Democratic Party (PD), Lulzim Basha, has decided to hold early elections for the party’s National Council.
According to the announcement made by General Secretary Gazment Bardhi, PD leadership will convene on June 18 to analyze the April 25 elections and summon the party’s National Assembly for July 17, 2021.
The National Assembly approves modifications to the party’s statutes and elects the members of the National Council.
The current National Council was elected on December 17, 2018 and was supposed to serve a four-year term, ending in December 2022.
On June 13, the PD confirmed incumbent Lulzim Basha as their chairman, for the third time in a row. After electing a new National Council, Basha will most likely elect new people serve in the Party Leadership as well.
In response to the latest internal elections, members of the National Council of the Democratic Party claimed that the membership of the PD had been reduced by 28 thousand members. In 2017, the PD had 103,000 members compared to its current 75,000 members.
According to two PD candidates running for the party’s leadership positions, membership lists had been purged of those members who had been critical of the incumbent leader, among other voting irregularities.
