The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) urged the Albanian Parliament to implement an “inclusive process” during the selection of the next Albanian President.
On Friday, May 13, the Albanian presence of OSCE took to Twitter to make its appeal.
“As the Country initiates the parliamentary procedures for electing the #President of the Republic, @OSCEinAlbania salutes an #inclusive process that will bring to the highest office a personality representing the #unity of the people, as set forth in the #Constitution of #Albania.”
The Albanian Parliament began the official proceedings for the selection of the Albanian President on Tuesday, May 10. Over this week, parliamentary committee and party leaders met with Socialist whip Taulant Balla to reach an agreement on voting.
Balla had originally proposed May 16 as the date when to hold the first round of voting, but so far has failed to reach consensus.
The Constitution allows up to five sessions for the president’s election. The Socialists have the simple majority required to elect the president in the fourth or fifth round of voting, while the first three sessions require at least some votes from the opposition.
The issue is compounded by the fact that the country’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Party (PD), is undergoing a leadership struggle that has left its mark on the presidential elections as well.
Democratic MP Enkeled Alibeaj has opted to collaborate with the Socialist majority and published his own guidelines for the PD’s participation in the upcoming elections. He is supported by a small number of Democratic MPs, despite being sacked from his position as leader of the party’s parliamentary group during a recent convention.
Meanwhile, the majority of the PD sides with Sali Berisha and his Refoundation Committee. Last week, the Committee voted a resolution where it stated that it would vote only for a consensual candidate.
