At last, Albania will have a parliament without communists, or at least without their hangers-on. Regardless of the circumstances in which such a situation came about, this nevertheless constitutes a positive step for the country’s future development, and not only in the political sphere. Over these five years, beginning with the parliament with a Communist majority, elected on 31 March 1991, and continuing through the most recent parliament, it must be acknowledged that, regardless of its composition, the Communist mentality has dominated at some key moments. Thus, when it came to drafting a more suitable law on the restitution of property, even the parliament dominated by the DP remained within the limits of Law 7501, approved by the previous parliament, chaired by former Communists appointed by Ramiz Alia. The same thing happened with several other laws, which have negatively affected the development of the fight against communism. It was clear that, under the pressure exerted by a relatively large number of SP deputies, it was impossible to go much further in this direction. Nor can the negative role of some DP deputies themselves be ignored; for almost the entire time, they have been closer to the positions of the SP and its allies than to the prog Read page 2

The Conspiracy of the “Center Pole”

Yesterday, the deputies of the 13th legislature, which has just ended, received their final salary. It was the last time that the par-

In recent days, a proposal emerged from the ranks of the PQ concerning a compromise with the DP—a compromise that caused a great stir in Albanian political circles. The political forces making up the “Pole” decided to give up their boycott, putting forward several conditions to the DP in order to take part in the 16 June election round. In this way, the “PQ” caused the first rift in its alliance with the SP. The SP could only regard such a move as a betrayal; from its “victory feast,” the PQ had hoped to lick up a few crumbs. But at the DP press conference yesterday afternoon, it was revealed that PQ representatives had secretly sought to negotiate with the DP, again in connection with their participation in the elections. This refers to another proposal by the PQ, in which the PAD and PSD called for the 16 June elections to be postponed so that they could prepare to take part. This secret flirtation with the DP is the PQ’s second betrayal of its party’s allies, the Socialists, who, as all the signs indicate, are preparing to go through a period filled with turmoil. I. Z.

The Chairman of the Central Election Commission, E. Kapidani (center), during yesterday’s press conference The Central Commission announces the conclusion of the elections At a press conference held yesterday in the early hours of the morning at the Palace of Congresses, which also houses its headquarters, the Central Election Commission confirmed that the DP had won all 17 electoral districts. According to the information available to the CEC, turnout in the elections was very high. In the 17 districts where elections were held again following the violations observed on 26 May 1996, 68% of registered voters took part. On 16 June, only 18% of those voters who had participated on 26 May did not take part. Although more than eight parties took part in the electoral districts, none of them—except the DP—was able to compete for a seat in the new Parliament. The highest turnout was observed in Peqin, Berat, Pukë, Vlorë and Elbasan, where it exceeded 70%. The final results, confirmed the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Ed-mir Kapidani, will be announced shortly. With the 17 districts won yesterday, the DP brought its total to 106 districts won in the elections of 26 May 1996, not counting the number of deputies who will win parliamentary seats through the proportional system, estimated at around 21. Also at the press conference, one of the CEC members explained to journalists all the provocations by the Red Front, declared by [text cut off in image]. The PD is significantly increasing its number of parliamentary seats. In all 17 electoral districts on June 16, it won decisively against its right-wing opponents. The electorate of Delvinë disqualifies Vasil Melo.

Yesterday, the deputies of the 13th legislature, which has just come to an end, received their last salary. come to an end, received their last salary. It was the last time that the parliamentarians, colleagues for four years, shook hands with one another, and also with the cashier of the People’s Assembly. The Democratic Party (PD) deputies even offered their Socialist counterparts condolences over their deep “defeat” in the recent elections, and told them that everything could be put right if there were greater understanding between them. On the other hand, most of those PD deputies will not themselves enter the next People’s Assembly, not because they failed to win on May 26 and afterward, but because their party did not nominate them at all. The situation is the same with the Socialists, except that they were nominated but did not win, because, as they say, “the votes were manipulated.” Nevertheless, both groups, along with the Social Democrats (one of them complained that the coins looked as if they had been “eaten by a mouse”) and the Alliance members, left together yesterday, holding white packets containing 27,000 lek in their hands. A. S.

The government is widening the circle of those who must show their pockets P. 3

The PD is significantly increasing its number of parliamentary seats.

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