EDITORIAL NOTE The PS leaders hurried to announce their Referendum results on Sunday evening, according to which the “No” vote on the Draft Constitution had received more than 60% of the votes. The very next day, at a press conference, they announced percentage results for all districts, based on “the records of the socialist members of the commissions.” Comparing the figures announced at the PS press conference with those received by the RD editorial office shows discrepancies, which in some cases are clearly contradictory. We remind readers that “RD” had warned of this as early as its Sunday issue, when it drew attention to the PS leader’s Saturday decision to publish fabricated data. In any case, to be fair to its readers, the editorial office has decided to publish the official results that the Central Referendum Commission will announce. We learned from people in contact with it that intensive work is under way to produce the final Referendum result.

Mark Gjin Prenga—Enver Hoxha imprisoned him; the PS leaders’ calls for blood cost him his life “Blood!” the extremist PS leaders cried, and blood was shed around them. A 35-year-old, Mark Gjin Prenga, twice convicted by the communist regime for his political beliefs, became a victim of the hysteria of the PS’s left-wing extremists. Hundreds of thousands of Albanians, entire families, were persecuted, killed and imprisoned, deported and destroyed, yet many of them survived. They survived to see their dream come true: the overthrow of communism, freedom. Mark Gjin Prenga was one of them, active in the DP from the very beginning of democracy. He too fought and was a voice for the Albania he had dreamed of while gazing at the sky from behind prison bars, but... “Blood!” the criminals howled—those who had called for it even after the dictator’s years, those who shed blood on 2 April ’91. And the criminals shed blood on a day symbolic for Albanians, a day that should have been one of reconciliation and unity. The treacherous killing of a DP prisoner in the Vigu area aimed not only to kill a person, but also to commit a crime in the very place where it happened; above all, it aimed to achieve what all the actions of the thugs placed by the PS on the election commissions were intended to achieve: “rigging” and manipulation through violence. The many flagrant cases of these incidents, coming into the editorial office from every district and continuing to arrive, show this. The PS leaders had worked to bring about this situation. They declared it, and prepared for a bloody killing if the votes at the meeting of the leaders held on Saturday went against them. What happened there was similar. At that meeting the PS leaders fully confirmed the strategy of deceit and violence they would pursue the next day. The result: a 35-year-old man lost his life, others were wounded, and that was not all. A strategy of violence is nothing new for the PS leaders. It is nothing new for Pellumbi, who sang the praises of the dictatorship of the proletariat and violent revolution; it is nothing new for the author of 2 April, the minister of State Security under the communist regime; nor is it new for the former leaders of the Enver associations, summoned back and powerfully reactivated at the ballot boxes. This strategy, implemented for 50 years without any legal restraint, was shaken in December ’90 and dealt a heavy blow on 22 March ’92, but it is clear that the blow was not final. The criminals merely cowered and hid because they feared revenge by their victims. But democracy does not accept this: it condemns it, and the former victims do not seek revenge, but the democracy they had dreamed of. That was all the criminals wanted: they mistook tolerance for weakness and sprang back into action. That was all those who took calls for unity and reconciliation as protection for their violence wanted. They should understand very clearly that democracy does not mean tolerance of crime; democracy does not permit violence; it respects the free vote, the verdict of the people. EDI PALOKA

The Democratic Party of Albania Berat Branch Berat, 07.11.94 To the Central Commission for the Referendum on the Constitution TIRANA For the attention of PD Tirana At polling station no. 7 in the city of Berat, DP observer Ermal Sino was provoked and then assaulted by two young men who came into the polling station from outside. Later, as observer Ermal Sino was leaving for his home, he disappeared, and even now, 24 hours later, he has still not been found. The Berat district police station has declared him a wanted person. CHAIRMAN EDUARD DOLLANI

Comment by the EC observers A “No” vote in the referendum on the Constitution will distance Albania from the Council of Europe.” Its own international representatives, Belgian Lambert Ketchermans and Swiss Dumeni Columbreg, who came to observe the voting, say so. “If Sunday’s results are negative,” Belgian Ketchermans explained yesterday to Gazeta Shqiptare, “then this will truly be a problem. Because for Albania to become a full member of the Council of Europe, it must have not only a democratic parliament and government, but also a Constitution.” (Taken from “Gazeta Shqiptare”)

A large number of violations were observed during the Referendum voting held on 6 November. In my capacity as secretary of the district voting commission, I bring the identified violations to your attention: 1. The municipal and commune commissions were not established in accordance with the instructions issued by the Central Voting Commission. Instead, the District Council, totally dominated by the socialists, decided everything in the PS’s favour. The rule that each commission be headed by representatives of the three main political forces was violated, with lawyers appointed as deputy chairmen of each commission—people who for a long time had been members of the communist dictatorship. 2. During the voting process, falsified lists were used by the commission chairmen, who were PS members, at two polling stations in the town. The materials are held by the Municipal Commission. 3. The seal and voter list were altered by the secretary of the voting commission in Marinez, a PS representative, who then left the polling station. 4. At a polling station in the Commune of Topoje, 65 extra ballot papers were inside the ballot box, over and above the number of voters. 5. The chairman of the Commission of the Commune of Cakran, Bardhyl Fasko, collected the voting materials without the presence or signature of the commission secretary, the representative of the PD. Despite the insistence of the chairman as well, the district commission secretary was dismissed; this action was carried out unlawfully. 6. In the Commune of Libofshe, people armed with clubs and axes created an atmosphere of sheer terror at the moment when the counting of votes was to begin at each polling station. This was justified with the absurd pretext of “protecting the polling stations from PD manipulation.” The same atmosphere was displayed before the date of the Referendum, including when the PD submitted its protests to the district Police Commission. These and many other violations compel us to state that the Referendum voting results can in no way be considered genuine. Secretary of the District Voting Commission FERDINAND MURATI

To the District Central Commission for Voting in the Referendum on the Constitution PERMET For the attention of: Central Commission for the Referendum on the Constitution TIRANA Based on information from members of the voting commissions and observers appointed by the Democratic Party, WE PROTEST before that commission against the legal violations observed during the voter-registration procedure and during the voting: 1). At polling station no. 4 (in Permet), a flagrant violation was identified that made manipulation possible by the socialist chairman of the polling station, Nexhip Mamaj. Specifically, there were 51 undocumented ballot papers, although the minutes stated that 758 ballots had been collected; in fact, 809 ballot papers had been collected. The violation was identified by Androkli Londho, an observer from the Association for Democratic Culture. 2). Around 30 voters who were members and supporters of the PD in Permet, and 25 in Kelcyre, were unlawfully denied the right to vote, while the voting lists included people who had been dead for a long time, as well as people who had moved to other districts or were refugees. 3). At the polling station in Zeleshe, the ballot box was opened half an hour before [the scheduled time]. 4). All the supposedly independent members of the voting commission were members of Hysni Milloshi’s Communist Party; they pressured voters by accompanying them as far as the secret voting booth. 5). The editor of the liberal news newspaper “Opinion,” who was present at polling station no. 5, was publicly assaulted by Josif Bushi, a member of the Socialist Party leadership and the District Council. 6). Thirty polling stations in the district did not comply with the law (including two polling stations in the city of Permet). 7). There were ballot boxes that were unsealed, such as the one in Petran. For the above violations, we request that the persons responsible be dealt with in accordance with the law. For the PD Electoral Commission of Permet Chairman THEODHORAQ VANGJELI

Subject: Information about several legal violations in the vote to approve the Constitution, reported by the PD representative on the Berat District Central Commission. To the Central Commission TIRANA While observing the vote to approve the draft Constitution, the following legal violations were noted by the PD representative on the District Central Commission. 1. In the village of Levan, the voting documents were seized by people representing the PS in that area. 2. In the village of Sheq Gajde, the PD representatives on the voting commission caught a person voting who was not registered on the voter lists (the ballot paper and the entry on the list had been completed by the PS representatives on the commission as if the person were registered); the ballot was declared invalid. 3. At that point, the chairman and a member of the polling-station commission assaulted the PD observer. Voting was suspended and resumed after 4 hours. 4. During the District Central Commission’s examination of the documents received from the commune commissions, the following violations were found: 1. The figures reported by the polling-station commissions do not reconcile. 2. Article 67 of Law no. 7453, “On elections for local government,” was violated, as voting took place without documentation and signatures in the following communes and polling stations: a. Commune of Ura Vajgurore, polling stations 2 and 6: 1,135 voters b. Commune of Sinjë, polling stations 4, 5, 9, 12, 13: 1,270 voters c. Commune of Vetëp, polling stations 8, 9, 10: 1,147 voters d. Commune of Poshnje, polling stations 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14: 2,344 voters e. Commune of Oslak, polling stations 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13: 4,080 voters f. Commune of Lumas, polling stations 4, 5, 7, 10, 14: 821 voters g. Commune of Terpan, polling stations 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16: 1,744 voters h. Commune of Roshnik, polling stations 3, 8, 13: 365 voters h. Municipality of Berat, polling station 9: 830 voters 13,736 voters As can be seen, out of 74,740 voters in Berat district, 13,736 voted in violation of the law. PD representative, Berat Branch Commission Secretary TAHIR NUMANI

To the Central Commission TIRANA The following legal violations were observed in Berat district during the Referendum on the Constitution: 1. At the polling station in the village of Qender, identification numbers were not entered on the voter lists during voting, and voters did not sign them. 2. There are no minutes of the voting commission meeting; the voting materials were voted on [unclear] and were missing, and the commissions’ materials had not been transferred by the commission chairmen, representatives of the PS. 3. The voter lists were altered by the commission chairmen (of the PS), as in the Commune of Roshnik. 4. At polling station Sheq Gajde in the Commune of Poshinje, the PS commission chairman was caught handing ballot papers to voters (there is a record of this) and beat the commission member (of the PD) who tried to stop him. The polling station was closed for several hours. 5. There are no decisions establishing the voting commissions, and members were replaced without documentation (for example, the Commune of Velabisht, Roshnik, etc.). 6. At polling station no. 8 in Lumas, voters were registered during voting, beyond the deadline, as the PS chairman wished. 7. At polling station no. 7 in the city of Berat, the PD observer Ermal Sino has disappeared. Chairman EDUARD DOLLANI Minutes 6 November 1994, 13:00 Recorded today, 6.11.94, at the polling station for the Referendum on the Constitution. Present were the Chairman of the District Central Commission, Krenar Suku; the Secretary of the District Central Commission, Tahir Lumani; and the Deputy Chairman of the District Commission, Petrit Ngalopi. During the observation and verification carried out in the course of voting, it was established that the chairman of the voting commission, Dervish Doksani, and the member of the polling-station commission, Shyqyri Doksani, both representatives of the PS, committed manipulation by allowing another person to cast a ballot, in violation of the Referendum law. These two persons were caught red-handed by observer Baki Dervishi, and this caused a serious dispute among the commission members and the observer. Someone intervened to calm the situation, at the request of those present at the polling station. Polling Station Chairman Dervish Doksani Polling Station Member Shyqyri Doksani Deputy Chairman Petrit Ngalopi Commission Member Krenar Suku Secretary Tahir Lumani Observer Baki Dervishi

Recorded today, 6.11.94, in the presence of the Chairman of the Commune Commission, Shpetim Vrapi; Deputy Chairman Andre Krimqe; Secretary Xhezmi Sulovari; and member Qani Zaqo, concerning the identification of several legal violations. The checks carried out established that the documents and seal of polling station commission no. 8 in the Commune of Kutalli had, during the period from 5.11.94 to 6.11.94, remained at the home of Sejt Hyka, chairman of polling station commission no. 8, contrary to the rules laid down by law. The aforementioned documents and the polling-station seal were in the possession of the commission chairman near the commission on 6.11.94. In addition, it was established that no civil chairmen had been appointed at any of the polling stations in this commune. Note: The aforementioned documents included the electoral lists, ballot papers, and the polling-station seal. Commission Chairman Shpetim Vrapi Deputy Chairman Andre Krimqe Secretary Xhezmi Sulovari Member Qani Zaqo Representatives of the polling-station commission Piro Bica, Kostika Çobanaqi, Xhevahir Hatia Observer Alerd Zefi