The President is seeking the spies’ votes. The committees: Failure to disband favors Berisha’s game. Driza on the phone with “Republika”: “I’m not the fraudster.” Kamberi: “I secured the loan.”

The DP will win the elections Albright: Don’t play games with the elections The elections are over. The result is known. Berisha has decided: The DP has won. That was the gist of the press conference, announced as very important (as though the President had ever held unimportant press conferences). So the decision is apparently final: the June victory will be even greater than the one on May 26. By that logic, all that remains is for the President’s party to seize 100% of the votes in these elections. In a lightning-fast statement, the DP yesterday denied Prime Minister Fino’s account, claiming that he had distorted the political reality in Albania in America. Also yesterday, the DP announced its maneuver to submit the 1996 electoral law to Parliament. This maneuver overturns the table, forgets the agreement, and lends support to Berisha’s statement about a landslide victory. But how will the Democratic Party secure the result Berisha has already decided on? The President, as always, is not showing his cards. He plays under the table and tries zealously to guard his secrets, trusting not even his closest associates. In a way, the President’s capricious statement is making Albanians angry. Through his declaration of victory, he has issued an order to the Albanians: There’s no point in going to the ballot boxes. I decide the victory. I’ll sign the tally sheets after we count the ballot papers, the way I see fit. According to the President, there are also reliable, prestigious confirmations that supposedly predicted the landslide victory. Exactly as happened in the previous elections, when a foundation with a respected name compromised its reputation by announcing the election result six hours before the ballot boxes closed. The misfortune of the President’s party lies in the fact that it has learned no lessons from the tragedy into which it dragged the Albanian people. If you put together the proceedings of Parliament and the President’s press conference, it is not difficult to reach the conclusion stated above. There is no sign of remorse for the lives lost, the homes burned, the economic ruin, or the devastation that descended on Albania. The President says the rebellion was organized by the left—fine, but why did the state he led fail to protect its own citizens? Why does the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces say nothing about the responsibility of his party and his own personal responsibility? Why is there no comment on the arming of DP militants on the President’s own orders? Perhaps Berisha had the opportunity to deny the report if it were true; strangely, he did not do so even at the press conference, when he was asked directly. He is emphasizing his supposed credit for resolving the crisis by political means, but says nothing about his failure to resolve it by military means. He was the one who initiated the declaration of a state of emergency and the violent suppression of the rebellion. These and other issues carry responsibilities for Berisha and the Democratic Party, which apparently has decided to win big in the parliamentary elections. Continued on p. 3

EVERYONE WINS WITH US!

P. 6

In my capacity as Chairman of the Republican Party and a member of the People’s Assembly, I declare the following: The Republican Party agrees with the consensus of the 9 parties to submit to Parliament the Draft Election Law proposed by the Government. We oppose any kind of political maneuvering that runs counter to the consensus of the agreement of May 9, negotiated by Mr. Vranicki and ODIHR specialists. We declare that we will not take part in the elections if the Democratic Party majority arbitrarily passes the law, as it was propo- p[?]posed in the morning session. Since, for health reasons, we cannot be pre[?]sent in Parliament, I request that this statement be read at the parliamentary session. Chairman of the Republican Party Sabri Godo

REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA 1991

P. 2 Parties threaten to boycott the elections P. 3 Socialists bring together the left P. 3