Commission members inserted extra ballot papers Italian observers report on the elections: “The DP wanted to bribe us”

. According to the information the parties have provided about the 20 October elections and the runoff that followed, votes have been protected and secured in all sorts of ways. The Democratic Party protected its result using the simplest, most precise and undoubtedly most effective method. According to these reports, the means included stuffing extra ballot papers into the ballot boxes, buying off the Socialist deputy chair, using militant young men to issue threats and, of course, deploying the police and SHIKU. This became clear on 26 May, and there was no doubt that the same methods would be used for the local elections too, if necessary. There is another method of protecting votes: that of the Socialist Party. It consisted of assigning its activists to polling stations, enlisting observers and, of course, calling for vigilance against manipulation. In every instance of democratic voting in Albania, this has proved not very effective, with negative consequences and even casualties. Then there are the methods used by other parties to protect votes, such as the Centre Pole, for example. In this case, we find none of the characteristics of the methods used by the two parties mentioned above. Deprived of resources and people, these parties have mostly appealed to people’s democratic conscience and urged the institutions to respect the free vote. Experience has shown that in this case, too, protecting the vote has not succeeded. The citizens of Shkodër, aware of the usefulness of the experiences described above and convinced of Paloka’s saying that “a capable man gets his donkey out of the mud,” acted clearly and decisively. They used their opponent’s weapons, which you could not choose without winning. The Shkodran League made it clear to the authorities and the Democratic Party that its voters were determined to defend their vote, even with weapons. They showed their weapons to their armed and sophisticated opponents and declared that they too would use them if necessary. This method worked, the vote was protected and the DP lost. Of course, nobody is saying that this is how votes should be protected. We all know that they are protected by respecting the principles of free, open and democratic voting. But the people of Shkodër showed us that when faced with extremes, an appropriate response must be found. For Albanian politics, this precedent was a serious warning. On 27 October, it happened again in Shkodër. It could happen throughout the country. This is no secret. What happens next will be set right.

Zejmen, the October 27 elections

Scandal at the Central Election Commission The opposition rises up page 3 4–5 November Scandal at the Central Election Commission The opposition rises up Fists thrown at the Socialist deputy chair of the RD page 3 4–5 November

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