PS: “Elections” Socialists: “Parliament must immediately put the Constitution on the agenda” Arbnori: “We will decide only when we have the official voting results” Socialists: “Parliament must immediately put the Constitution on the agenda” Arbnori: “We will decide only when we have the official voting results” TIRANE - A fierce polemic, which escalated into insults and harsh statements from the parties, was the atmosphere that prevailed in the first real parliamentary session after the referendum. The only two representatives of the Socialists — group leader Dokle and the vice-president of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Vukaj — left the chamber. Dokle had asked for a declaration from his group to be voted on before it was put on the agenda. A request that Chairman Arbnori did not accept. There was tension in the ranks of the other parties as well. A disagreement over the agenda led to a mutual exchange between Arbnori and Rilindja Demokratike of Aleksandër-Demokratike. Ka[l]u titet seems not to have lost hope for a possible victory. “There has been a considerable increase in participation against the Draft Constitution,” said the PD spokesman. In the statement that Dokle distributed to the press immediately after leaving Parliament, the PS position was once again expressed, after the results, which they consider definitive in the voting of 6 November. PS has no other way out of the new political situation that has been created. Parliament must function for a little longer and then be dissolved. “If we are to have a Constitution, we must have a new Parliament. Our current Parliament, according to the statement of the socialist group, before dissolving itself can only do the preparatory work and the program and commission of a Constitution, and it is anti-constitutional and illegal with the decisions it has approved.” “There is no reason at all to hold parliamentary sessions,” Arbnori replied to Dokle through an official referendum information statement on Tuesday by consensus from us and from the chairmen of the parliamentary groups, among whom Dokle is included. The results of the popular referendum have not yet been made known. President Berisha and the Chairman of the Democratic Party have stated that they will respect the verdict of the people. As soon as we are acquainted with the official results, we will put this matter on the agenda.” The Democratic Party insists on claiming that the results announced so far by unofficial party channels “are grossly exaggerated and do not reflect reality.” According to the data that the Democratic Party has from its own sources, some of which have also been confirmed by the official results of the Central Commission, “the high turnout index did not come from the whole country. The capital and urban areas were very skeptical toward the Draft Constitution.” A version that continues to be challenged by representatives of other parties. “We who observed the polling stations, the unsigned records signed by all members of the commissions, and the results published by us should be considered accurate,” Dokle said yesterday. The same opinion is held by the Social Democrats, who — as their chairman Gjinushi told Gazeta Shqiptare — will formally ask Arbnori to call the Central Commission again, so that the results of the Referendum can be published as soon as possible. They too have stated that, at the least, the voting results are doubtful. Representatives of the Democratic Alliance wanted to make their demands known. According to MP Teta, some of them were raised in the constitutional commission, where the PD should no longer have either the chairmanship or the majority, the resignation of the President of the Constitutional Court, the rejection of the decisions of the three members of this court, and the immediate repeal of Article 2 of the Law on the Referendum. AD - Ka[l]u Zogaj and Fejzulla - said yesterday during a press conference that this is the only way. “In order to secure state recognition and the solutions they consider necessary; the new parliament, as well as the overall stabilization of the situation in the country. The Alliance had recommended to its members and supporters that they participate in the 6 November vote.” Fatos Baxhaku

TIRANE - Two new “parties” emerged during the referendum voting. Besides the “YES” and “NO” camps, expressed by two opposing political movements — the Democratic Party on one side and the Albanian opposition on the other — there were also other positions in the referendum. The first and largest of them, according to approximate data, is estimated at an army of 300,000 people: the “party” of abstainers, or in other words those who approached this vote with indifference and did not take part at all. The second is the “party” of invalid ballots. Meanwhile, a fog still hangs over the official referendum results. The Central Commission continues to remain silent while waiting for all the minutes from the districts to be completed. But from the figures received up to yesterday evening, “No” seems to be prevailing. Although the number of votes — preliminary figures record around 50,000 people — the percentage of invalid ballots seems to be quite high. According to the preliminary calculations. Under the referendum law, in this case it directly affects the voting result by leaning in favor of the “No” alternative. The Constitution falls if it fails to obtain more than 50 percent of the “Yes” from those taking part in the vote, and not by being compared directly with “No”. An official figure for the number of invalid ballots has still not been given, since these will only be provided when a results recognition is carried out. However, it seems these will not be few, and in some districts even a high percentage. Thus in Lushnje, out of more than 80,000 voters, 16 percent were considered to have invalid ballots, or close to 14 percent. More than 4,000 were in Fier and around 3,000 in Berat. Figures which have not even spared debate with the Central Commission. In addition, various complaints have been included. However, officially it is still not known whether the many complaints will be taken into consideration. The official results of the Referendum have still not been made known, although it seems only a few districts remain to submit their results. By yesterday noon, verification had been completed in 25 of them. In the waiting for official data, the only figures still circulating are those of the parties and the Association for Democratic Culture. The latter was announcing results completely different from those currently supported in the capital. Armand Mero

AD TIRANE - Early elections in the spring of next year. This is the position of the Democratic Alliance in the political situation created after the Referendum on the Constitution. According to AD leaders — Ceka, Zogaj and Fejzulla — who gave a press conference yesterday, this is the only way. “We who observed the polling stations, the unsigned records signed by all members of the commissions, and the results published by us should be considered accurate,” Dokle said yesterday. The Social Democrats hold the same view, and — as their chairman Gjinushi told Gazeta Shqiptare — they will formally ask Arbnori to call the Central Commission again, so that the results of the Referendum can be published as soon as possible. PSD TIRANE - “A project force-fed by a single party, by unlawful means, through propaganda aimed at imposing its dictate on public opinion.” This is how PSD chairman Skënder Gjinushi explained the reason for rejecting the draft constitution yesterday at the press conference, recalling it as a project marked by snobbery and diktat. According to him, 63 percent of the people voted “NO” to this constitutional experiment, because they rejected the version presented by Berisha. Our position, Gjinushi stressed, “does not mean that PSD continues to be in favor of a divisive and cultureless policy in Albanian politics.” PR TIRANE - The Republicans are discussing today the situation created after the referendum. PR has still made no official statement regarding the result. “If the announcement... the party leadership will meet to discuss the new political situation that has been created. At the end of this meeting, some official PR position is expected. Although they had their own representatives for the Draft Constitution, the Republicans were the only parliamentary party to have supported the campaign for the approval of the Constitution.

Dialogue among the parties begins TIRANE - Joint talks among the opposition parties have begun. Yesterday afternoon in the PS offices, talks were held for the first time between leaders of the Democratic Alliance and socialist MPs. The PS-PAD meeting is not just a meeting with the leaders of the Alliance, but perhaps it will also set other political forces in motion. The same news also comes from the Socialists. Now, across all opposition parties, the referendum results are seen not only as a failure of the proposed Constitution project, but are also regarded as “an indication of a real political crisis.” The talks among the opposition parties do not appear to be creating the basis for a future coalition between them. Each of them has expressed its own view on dialogue and cooperation with one another. “We,” Ceka explains, “have been entrusted only with ensuring that the created situation is viewed through the thoughts and opinions of the other parties.” Constitution. We believe that a new commission should be set up and its composition should not be the same as before. The ratio should be that of the referendum conclusions, meaning the Democratic Party should no longer have the majority in it. The PS-PAD meeting is not just a meeting with the leaders of the Alliance, but perhaps it will also set other political forces in motion. The same news also comes from the Socialists. Now, across all opposition parties, the referendum results are seen not only as a failure of the proposed Constitution project, but are also regarded as “an indication of a real political crisis.” The talks among the opposition parties do not appear to be creating the basis for a future coalition between them. Each of them has expressed its own view on dialogue and cooperation with one another. “We,” Ceka explains, “have been entrusted only with ensuring that the created situation is viewed through the thoughts and opinions of the other parties.” Ali Pashko, chairman of the Democratic Alliance, was also dealing with the issue

Peqin, cholera tightens the siege: one dead PEQIN - Cholera is surrounding Peqin. One dead and more than 40 hospitalized are, for now, the temporary toll of the vibrio outbreak. “Other people affected by the disease continue to arrive at the hospital centers in Elbasan city, and among them there are also children. The outbreak verified two days ago in the village of Hashatas near the prison of Peqin has now spread to new areas. Yesterday people from Pajova, Sheza and other areas were admitted to hospital. The cause of the worrying outbreak of this epidemic in these areas is still unclear. The victim of this new cholera attack was an elderly 65-year-old man from Pekisht. His death occurred on Sunday, but it was confirmed only yesterday by the doctors at the center, who explained that his condition had been very serious and that their treatment efforts had been unable to save him. Other people — including three children — may share the same fate as the farmer from Pekisht, as their condition is serious. In fact, because of this, a hospital unit has been set up near the hospital and all infectious-disease specialists in Tirana have been alerted; the doctors themselves are also alarmed. “Many patients come only when they see that they are in a very serious condition,” Lefter Guxho told Gazeta Shqiptare. “It is still not known whether these can now be considered as the disease’s sources. Doctors hope that this is not the case, but the facts coming from the patients themselves leave no room for doubt. Some of them say they had no contact with the areas declared to have cholera, and there is not even a water-supply connection between them. So the epidemic seems not to have decided to fall silent and continues to strike. Its attacks, not always sudden, are not subsiding, and the number of its victims is rising. Cholera threatens. Mentor Kikia

Berisha receives Arbëresh representatives Bishop of Lungro, Ercole Lupinacci, and scholar Antonio Bellusci are the Arbëresh representatives who were received in Tirane in a meeting with President Berisha. During the meeting, Berisha expressed his respect for the efforts of Arbëresh scholars in preserving traditions. In turn, Bellusci presented the president with his latest book on Skanderbeg and Greece, and together with his friend Ercole Lupinacci invited him to the Arbëresh Community. Arbnori meets with Adem Demaçi “You are a symbol of Kosovo,” said the political leader while receiving, during a public event, the vice-president of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori, in his meeting with Adem Demaçi. Demaçi said that [..] the Albanians of democratic Albania were the first to raise the issue of Kosovo, and we are also grateful to Albania. At the heart of this [?] and love.” Credit for health care Another 124 million dollars in credit from the World Bank Development Association is available for the project to improve health administration. The approved project includes the restoration of 100 centers

Private guards without a license: company shut down VLORE - It was a private security company, but it had no legal documents or social insurance. Now, after an inspection by the Financial Police, the company has been ordered closed for one month. According to information given by this police in Vlora, the private guard firm “Nika” carried out its activity from December 1993 until August of this year without being in compliance with tax laws. Under the law — according to the same information — a measure has been taken to seize the assets of the activity for a “three-month” period.

Two victims in an accident in Fier FIER - Crushed by a car and thrown into a ditch beside the road. This is the tragic and mysterious fate of two villagers from Zharrëz, Fier. D. Rrima and C. Hazizaj were found on Wednesday afternoon — around 7:00 p.m. — after being struck by a vehicle, very near the village. While the 43-year-old had already died, Hazizaj was in very serious condition. He was immediately taken to hospital. Apparently he too died in the early hours of the morning. According to information from the police station, the two men were walking along the roadside when a vehicle with foreign plates [?] hit them at speed. Afterwards the car left the scene.

/ Clash between the majority and the opposition. The battle of figures continues, but PD still hopes

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