The opposition protests in front of the Presidency over the Central Election Commission Thousands of opposition supporters gather in the square, despite the threat from the Minister of Public Order page 2

BY MP FERDINAND XHAFERRI While ordinary people remain prisoners of everyday problems, it seems that politics is more than ever gripped by the issue of the CEC. It is deeply saddening that the political class either does not want to understand—or someone has an interest in ensuring it does not understand—that by behaving as it has until now, it is losing more and more voters day by day, voters for whom the CEC is also necessary. If we were to look back and see what the most recent legal framework is, what actions have been taken, and what ideas have been put forward, we could list them as follows: The framework is based mainly on two constitutional articles that generally seek to outline the objectives and the way the CEC is composed. There is also a draft law that is expected to be approved—let us hope by consensus. The actions taken include the decree issued by Mr. Meidani appointing the CEC’s composition. This was followed by the opposition’s reaction, which took concrete form in its uniting against this composition. The most recent action observed is that of the ruling majority, which, under pressure from the opposition and the international factor, agreed to postpone the approval of the relevant draft law in parliament. As for the ideas that have circulated, we have seen dangerous proposals put forward, such as changing the constitutional article. The above proposal is called dangerous because, if we were to establish as a principle under the current circumstances that constitutional articles can be changed easily, we would not be contributing to strengthening stability or building democratic institutions. There have also been general ideas, such as looking at previous formulas, or having consensus come from Parliament, the Presidency, etc. It is surprising that, on such a specific issue, we have only general ideas. Neither side, apart from the composition announced by Mr. Meidani—which must necessarily be changed—has put forward a concrete proposal for seeking consensus. One possible course is for the main political forces, with OSCE assistance, to declare that they agree not to change the constitutional article. In implementation of the constitutional article, the draft law on the CEC should be approved by consensus. A concrete outcome of reaching consensus should be the specific resignation—not only of those members described by the media as anti-opposition, but of a precisely determined number that guarantees the opposition’s balance. This would free the opposition from any fear of manipulation. We must all be convinced that nobody wins with a manipulated vote. These elections are a decisive test in the eyes of international public opinion, showing that we deserve more and should receive greater support.

A 21-year-old girl in custody: He wanted to rape me, so I shot him with his own gun Razie Kotorri calmly received the Përmet Court’s decision on Saturday to place her in indefinite pretrial detention. On 15 August 1997, she shot her fellow villager, the maniac Mustafa Kotorri, in the middle of the forehead, while he was trying to rape her in a meadow on the outskirts of the village of Krushovë in Përmet. “Now I am at peace,” the 21-year-old told the Përmet police after finishing her account of the story, which she had kept secret for two and a half years. The murder, which remained a mystery, had, to the astonishment of Përmet’s criminal investigators, passed without the slightest concern among the residents of the small village, who had grown used to seeing the 50-year-old as “an immoral person who stained their honourable customs.” Not even Razija, then 18, escaped Kotorri’s sexual harassment. “He took advantage of every opportunity when I was walking along the village paths and persistently asked me to become his girlfriend,” she began her painful account, which abruptly turned her life upside down. page 9

Page 5 Eçevi (m), Simitis, Meta and Isaresku photo A. Babani Eçevi (m), Simitis, Meta and Isaresku — photo A. Babani

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