From: Dritan Shano
Let’s Not Be Afraid of Precedent

To be afraid for a precedent is not worth it. No social, economic, political, and scientific progress in human history has ever been achieved without the presence of precedent. Magellan’s voyage was unprecedented. The overthrow of the monarchy in France was unprecedented as well. So were the abolition of slavery and the creation of the United States, women’s suffrage on Isle of Man in 1881, the invention of penicillin, and the theory of relativity.

The establishment of the Democratic Party was considered by many Albanians unprecedented. PD’s mission, since its inception, was the creation of the precedents of individual, political, economic, and social freedom. This mission, I reckon, will continue to persevere with more precedents created, unknown to young and old Albanians.

Every precedent that is created in the favor of the majority of Albanians is sacred and leaves its mark in becoming part of the country’s social heritage. The guarantee of the free vote is such a thing. This is the duty of the Democratic Party. This is the duty of Lulzim Basha. Because of this, since February 18, 2017, he has been incessantly receiving the condemnation of the powerful and their subordinates, but he has gained the silent support of many Albanians. Even though, in all sincerity, no one cares for them.

The Democratic Party has no reasons not to create one precedent after another until another system of values is created, one that is unafraid and unbending to blind control and authority. We need a system of values that is built on freedom, honest work, and merit.

This system, however, has been constantly abandoned to be replaced with power games and its resulting perversions. The players involved, such as politicians, media owners, bloggers, or the government’s businessmen don’t want you to interfere with the connections they weave between each other and the comfortable status quo they have created that weighs over other people’s backs. They don’t want to change it.

A precedent involves the changing of the status quo, the cancellation of deals and disturbance in the lives of the ones involved. The present Albanian status quo is represented by these people who enrich themselves work or simply vegetate, with the parliament, the municipalities, and government offices occupied by criminals, and the country turned into a drug plantation where modern Albanian slaves work.  The present status quo sees how political bastions of the Democratic Party kowtow to criminals, fear, poverty, violence, bribery, and the positions in Kavaja, Kurbin, Dibra are occupied by Rilindja (the Renaissance of the Socialit Party as created by its leader Edi Rama).

The current status quo shows how the political process is eliminated and the collapse of this system is due to the buying and selling of deputies and parties. The current status quo considers the Democratic Party only as a stupid leftover in parliament, and 600,000 supporters should blindly participate in voting on June 18, 2017, not to exert their right to vote, because real voting is not happening, but as a cunning trick that serves only as a “democratic” Putinian decoration on Edi Rama’s chest, so he could say that he is a “democratic” pluralist and not a monist.

Every precedent is created by necessity. We need free and fair elections because they are the only social contract that guarantees coexistence among Albanians. We need elections, not rigged voting. Therefore, on February of this year we have demanded a caretaker government that guarantees pluralist elections. Otherwise, we won’t participate in fake monist elections.

Be careful of the word game that is going on in order to damage the dignity of the Democratic Party, trying to involve it in their power games. The Democratic Party is not boycotting the elections. There are no elections in this country, no voting process. Edi Rama has nominated the opposition. We are boycotting this voting process embellished as elections. This is the scheme of dictatorships, where elections are over before the voting process has started. This voting process was used in Albania from 1945 to 1990 and, financed by millions, is returning in 2017. This voting process eliminates pluralism.

Not participating in elections this time could be unprecedented, but we shouldn’t be afraid to create this precedent. It lasts only one moment. After that it is not one anymore.