President Berisha received the foreign observers Yesterday afternoon, the President of the Republic received observers from the Italian parties Forza Italia, Alleanza Nazionale, Christian Democratic Right, from the Union for the Republic party in France, and from the Austrian parties, the People’s Party and the Freedom Party, invited by the Democratic Party to observe the rerun of the elections in 17 electoral constituencies. President Berisha assured them that, as on 26 May and 2 May, the rerun elections in the 17 electoral constituencies would be entirely free, fair and transparent, and praised their arrival to observe these elections as support for democracy in Albania.

The spokesperson for the President of the Republic, commenting on the fabrication published in the red fundamentalists’ pamphlet “Zëri i Popullit” about an alleged meeting between President Berisha and his Albanian ally Fidel Castro in Istanbul, stated that during his stay at the UN Habitat Conference, the President of the Republic had no meeting with President Castro or with any other head of state. Such disinformation, the spokesperson for the President of the Republic stressed, best expresses the immorality of the red fundamentalists.

The victory of the DP, a victory for democracy The contest has begun in the open. In seventeen electoral constituencies spread across the country, elections will be repeated. The red front continues its boycott, seeking to hold democracy, stability, and Albania’s independence and sovereignty hostage. But, as President Berisha has said, “such a thing cannot happen.” Today, with their free vote, Albanians will give communism and the communists their final answer. They will vote once again for the DP, for prosperity, security, peace and stability, opening an irreversible path toward Europe with dignity and culture. Today’s rerun of elections in 17 electoral constituencies does not in any way diminish the image of the DP’s victory on 26 May 1996. “Election day on 26 May proceeded normally, with minor prejudices, but fully within the standards of an election campaign and election day.” This was essentially the conclusion expressed by the OSCE observers and others, who did not call for the elections to be repeated, as the Albanian communists and their Marxist friends who arrived with OSCE observer status had hoped. Today’s turnout in a considerable number of constituencies is precisely evidence of the irreversible victory of the DP and of Albanians’ progress toward new standards of democracy. This shows that the DP places the country’s stability above all else. It is a party that respects dialogue with every political force, inside and outside the country. The DP and the democratic state received with goodwill every constructive observation from the OSCE, the EU and the State Department, in order to hold partial elections in those constituencies where serious irregularities had been observed. Today’s turnout makes the defeat of the red front even greater, since it clearly shows domestic and international public opinion that it was not irregularities that drove this front to boycott the elections of 26 May, but its blind instincts to destabilize the country at any cost. It was precisely for these reasons that Albanian voters boycotted that front on 26 May, reducing to a minimum the number of its representatives in the next parliament. The DP is convinced that today, too, the electorate in the 17 constituencies where Albanian citizens will vote again will join the majority of Albanians—with the DP, prosperity, stability and Albania in Europe. They will vote once again for the DP. The DP itself devoted its utmost attention and efforts to these constituencies, sending some of its leading figures there to convey its electoral messages. The DP is a party that greatly serves every individual’s vote. It respects everyone’s freedom and dignity, while also making its appeal to each and every voter. The DP assures every voter today that it will not abuse absolute power or the dignity of Albanians. This assurance is grounded in the DP’s own record, in the rule of law it is building, in its ability to acknowledge its mistakes and in its courage to identify anyone who violates the people’s expressed will. Stability, individual freedom, a market economy and respect for the rule of law are the DP’s sacred principles. These are great principles and the principles of European unity, of which Albanians are now dignified members. Therefore, vote for the DP again today; vote for peace, stability and prosperity for all Albanians, giving communism and the communists their final answer.

EUCD resolution on the elections in Albania During the proceedings of the EUCD Conference in Malta, the Democratic Party’s Secretary for International Relations, Mr Albert Brojka, reported yesterday that, after the issue was placed on the discussion agenda, the EUCD Conference discussed the electoral and post-electoral situation in Albania for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, and concluded by adopting a resolution unanimously approved by all the Christian Democratic and People’s parties belonging to this organization. The resolution first states that vote of the Albanian electorate,” and also specifies that “the OSCE/ODIHR is asked to clarify its differing reports.” Secondly, the resolution calls for “the irregularities in the elections to be verified and, once we are convinced of them,” the resolution says, “to be accepted and measures taken to correct them.” The document further states that “the re-vote in 17 constituencies is a step in the right direction” and resolves “to call on the opposition to participate in the elections of 16 June so that it may have the opportunity to take part in Parliament.” This resolution was proposed by the President of the EUCD, Mr Vim van Velzen. Regarding its four points, Mr Wilfred Martens, former President of the EUCD; Mr Claus Welle, Secretary-General of this organization; Mr Lojze Peterle, its vice-president; Gjeorge Tzitzikos, representative of the Greek party “Neo Demokratia”; and other senior representatives from France, Austria, Italy, Romania, etc., took part in the discussion. Representatives of the Christian Democratic and People’s parties of the EUCD, of which the DP of Albania is a full member, stated that they would take a position consistent with this document in their discussions in the European Parliament.

Interview with the Chairman of the PDSH, Mr Tritan Shehu — The Red Front has finally abandoned even the partial elections that will be held on 16 June. What is your comment? — I think it was an expected move, a consequence of all the destructive, boycotting and destabilizing activity that the leaders of the Red Front have tried to promote, not only on election day but throughout their political course, especially during the election campaign. At the same time, this is connected to their fear that a socialist parliamentary group might be formed, one that would escape their control and could serve as the nucleus for the creation of a moderate socialist force. They sacrificed the parliamentary group to the interests of their party, to the clique of fanatics currently leading the PS—a clique that seeks to use the old party as a cover for a handful of people who could not enter parliament because of their involvement in the past. This is the essence and purpose of the whole situation they created, especially once they became convinced they would not win. In this case, they understood the danger that could come from their own parliamentary group, which would certainly have MPs who, being independent of the PS clique and having their authority and a microphone, could threaten the position of the compromised faction in the socialist leadership. Another reason for this disgraceful abandonment is their Marxist concept, the Bolshevik logic of stigmatizing everything that does not stem from Marxist philosophy. It is a pernicious principle that operates on the basis of sects rather than genuine political platforms. This is the logic of political forces founded on such ideologies, which lead only down these paths. — And what can you say about Pole Q’s obsession with conditional participation in today’s partial elections? — I do not understand their obsession, all the more so when this option comes from a political grouping that does not exceed 2 percent in Parliament. Their demand for conditional dialogue is a disgraceful demand that seeks to replace democratic institutions in Albania, the laws and norms of a democratic state with schemes typical only of countries where human rights are threatened by violence or imposed war. This is a shameful and pernicious logic that has nothing at all to do with dialogue. The DP is open to dialogue with any political force interested in stability. The DP has always been characterized as a Party of dialogue, but it cannot accept the disgraceful schemes of those who, in order to assert their existence, play the card of destabilization and want to resolve questions concerning their political existence through third parties, outside the political will of the sovereign, about which they and their newspapers swear so much. Interviewed by: DUKAGJIN HATA

The Constitutional Court rejected the request of PAD and PSD

Declared to the BBC by the executive secretary of the European Democratic Union, Aleksis Uinton Jak- The elections expressed the true political will of the Albanian people There are two different OSCE reports on the elections in Albania Page 2

Western leaders have made no secret of their desire for President Boris Jelcin to be re-elected and of their fear of instability on the world stage if the Communists regain control of the country, which has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. Page 6

Dokle, Ceka and Gjinushi, three unemployed men in Athens

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Gjinushi also makes fun of Nanon At the Titania Hotel in Athens, in the presence of Dokle and two journalists, Gjinushi made fun of Nanon and accused him of a compromise with Berisha Ceka and Dokle attack PBDNJ Gjinushi also makes fun of Nanon At the Titania Hotel in Athens, in the presence of Dokle and two journalists, Gjinushi made fun of Nanon and accused him of a compromise with Berisha Nanon: They are taking over the party Ceka and Dokle attack PBDNJ Page 3