Berisha will not budge on the timetable, Nano on proportional representation. The President will not flee. Tens of millions of dollars have flowed out of Albania. Emigrants are abandoning the banks. Berisha will not budge on the timetable, Nano on proportional representation. The President will not flee. Berisha sets out for Vlora but turns back along the way Tens of millions of dollars have flowed out of Albania. Emigrants are abandoning the banks.

. Vranicki is back in Tirana. This time, the OSCE envoy will stay for a full three days, during which he will follow a packed schedule of meetings. In a few days, Tirana will draw the attention of international diplomacy. The elections will be held on Sunday, and Albania must [?] conduct them properly. It seems there is considerable concern about how they will proceed. The latest incidents during the election campaign have further fueled talk of an electoral process being undermined. The DP is the first party to have cast doubt on the electoral process in southern Albania. Yesterday, Hajdari repeated the Democrats’ doubts about whether the process in the South could be normal. For the first time, he expressed the possibility of not recognizing the elections in places where there are problems. The numerous incidents have led some foreign diplomats to consider it impossible to hold the Albanian elections on schedule. Strong reactions from the West would not tolerate such a thing. Following Wednesday’s meeting in Washington, it appears that a unified policy on Albania has been agreed upon. Prodi and Clinton are said to have discussed the Albanian crisis at length. In the view of the world’s leaders, this crisis will be resolved on June 29. Vranicki, who has received American and European approval for his mission, arrives in Tirana today. It seems he will put the finishing touches on the preparations for the elections, but no one can any longer guarantee his success in resolving the political disputes. Vranicki will again have to mediate to bring the closing time of polling stations forward. The OSCE office in Tirana has recently faced this request. Vranicki will have to address developments concerning proportional representation. He was the guarantor of an agreement that included proportional representation in favor of the small parties. That agreement has been violated by the SP. In this case, the guarantor must do something. Today, the Austrian mediator will have only a one-on-one conversation with Fino. Yesterday evening, a round table was organized at the initiative of the PR. This meeting of the parties will try to find a solution to the deadlocked issues in Albanian politics. Proportional representation and bringing the closing time forward will be discussed once again, while the positions of the major parties on these issues remain extreme. Vranicki will have the opportunity to learn about the disputes in the country, form a clearer picture, and find a better solution. It must be made clear to him, and a better solution must be found. solution must be found. solution must be found. solution must be found. solution must be found. If this solution is not forthcoming, then new developments may arise which, on the eve of June 29, could prove decisive for the electoral process.

One of the Vranicki–Fino meetings Photo: A. Babani One of the Vranicki–Fino meetings. Photo: A. Babani

Ermenji: Berisha must say who brought him to power p. 4

VEFA pays out creditors in Tirana and Vlorë pp. 6, 14