David McAllister, Vice President of the European People’s Party (EPP), which is affiliated with the opposition Democratic Party (PD), will visit Tirana tomorrow in order to find a solution to the political crisis.
Invited by Prime Minister Edi Rama and Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta, McAllister will be accompanied by MEP Knut Fleckenstein. Both negotiators will first meet with Rama and Meta, and subsequently with opposition leader Lulzim Basha.
Daily newspaper Panorama reported that there is a draft agreement ready which has been sent to Prime Minister Rama, Speaker Meta, and Basha for consideration. The contents of this draft are as yet unknown.
If the three leaders would accept the proposed agreement, there will be an attempt to organize a common meeting between the three political figures to make the agreement official.
Two days ago, opposition leader Lulzim Basha stated that Prime Minister Rama’s rejection of a caretaker government torpedoed the negotiations beforehand.
With his opinions Edi Rama has clearly announced the failure of the negotiations that we are awaiting on Tuesday. He says it clearly that for [his] chair, for [his] power, he isn’t opening the path to the solution sought by the citizens and the opposition. Edi Rama has announced in the last 48 hours the failure of the negotiations even before the European mediators have arrived.
During today’s protest, Basha stressed once again that for the opposition the guarantee of free and fair elections organized by a caretaker government are non-negotiable conditions.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is unwavering in his position. A few minutes after the opposition protest ended, he posted on Facebook that the elections will be held on June 18.
If held under the current conditions, the elections will be without the opposition parties, and without the electoral coalition of the PS and LSI.
