Nano: “We will no longer tolerate the PD’s behavior.” Vranicki on the committees: “No problem” PD’s proposal for the election date falls flat: 15 June. OSCE insists: 29 June. The US will not tolerate it

Berisha is bluffing again. Yesterday, his party put before Vranicki its proposal to hold the elections on 15 June. Leaving the meeting with the former chancellor, Tritan Shehu said that his party was demonstrating the necessary willingness to go to the polls within the framework of the 9 March agreement. He and Pollo told the press that the proposed date does not conflict with the limits set by the electoral law, since that law is not included in the March pact. It did not take long to see that the proposal in question was opposed both by the nine political parties with which the PD is to agree on the rules of the game, and by Vranicki himself. He told the parties that 15 June leaves no time to prepare, and that preparations are of crucial importance for a country like Albania in 1997. According to the former chancellor, time is needed to prepare the electoral rolls, ballot boxes, and other campaign arrangements. He thus shut the door on a proposal that looks like a clear political ploy, given the widespread desire in Albanian politics and the international community to hold early elections as soon as possible. Political show or electoral bluff? It seems to be both. By proposing 15 June as a possible date, the Democrats knew they would meet with everyone’s opposition. Mid-June is not the most suitable time to go to the polls, just as mid-July is not suitable either. When local government has been damaged across most of the country, when we need foreign assistance to prepare the ballot boxes and even the ballot papers, when law and order have not yet been restored and the country still smells of gunpowder, free and peaceful elections are impossible. The PD, Berisha, and Shehu know this very well; that is why they are proposing something unworkable, in order to rid themselves of the accusation that they sabotaged the 9 March agreement. Meanwhile, the proposal to hold elections in mid-June is an attempt to take the country to the polls without debating and reaching agreement on the fundamental issues concerning the rules of the game. When he declared that he was not concerned by the breach of the deadline set out in the electoral law, Tritan Shehu meant that he was also unconcerned by the fact that the National Intelligence Service still has neither a chief nor its own structures. Preparations for the vote, as RTV reports, have not yet been settled, and the PD’s paramilitary structures have not been disarmed by the relevant authorities. Everyone against it, no one in favor. The PD’s proposal can now be considered shelved, since Vranicki declared that there is no doubt the elections will be held on 29 June. The real loser, meanwhile, was President Berisha’s own party. By proposing the middle of next month for the polls, the PD will not be in a position to argue against postponing the elections until July or August. Berisha and Shehu have now declared themselves supporters of holding the elections as soon as possible. The other nine parties have been left to grant their wish as soon as possible. K.J

A soldier from the multinational forces gives alms to a little Albanian child. Photo: Reuters

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