The Democratic Party (PD) has proclaimed today’s agreement with the ruling Socialist Party (PS) a victory for the opposition.
In a press release, it stated that the PS has now yielded to their demands regarding the electoral reform after “months of opposition resistance and international pressure”.
The party added that they will now not work in a 4-member council instead of the Committee on Electoral Reform co-chaired by Damian Gjiknuri and Rudina Hajdari.
The newly created 4-member Political Council includes Gjiknuri and Hajdari as members; the two other members are Oerd Bylykbashi from the PD and Petrit Vasili from the LSI.
The statement reiterated what they had achieved with the agreement:
- Approval of electoral reform in a transparent, inclusive, and consensual way between political parties;
- Drafting of reform after discussions between political parties, outside of parliament;
- Approval of the draft-reform in parliament without changes, as agreed in political talks.
Following the public discontent with the sudden agreement, PD Secretary General Gazmend Bardhi also went on Facebook to clarify what these three points mean and why this was a victory for the PD.
“The propaganda is more frenzied than ever in disguising the essence of what was achieved through the mediation of international partners:
- The electoral reform will not be dictated by the government of the rigged elections;
- Decisions on electoral reform will be taken by consensus, outside of the illegitimate parliament;
- Parliament will be just a formal notary of decisions of the political consensus.”
Referring to Gjiknuri, Bardhi said the opposition could not control who the ruling party sends to talks. “It’s not up to us to choose the opponent,” he said.
The latest development in the Albanian politics marks a 180-degree turn for the opposition.
