Meeting of President Berisha with political parties represented in local government Yesterday at midday, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, held a meeting with the political parties represented in local government to discuss the criteria and procedures for establishing the permanent Electoral Commission, as well as the political representation ratios on this commission. Representatives of the PS, PSD, PUK and PA did not attend the meeting. During the discussion, all those present generally agreed that the representation of political parties in local government should be taken as the basis for forming the commission. The opposition parties and the opposition will have equal representation in the Central Electoral Commission. Regarding the issue of reflecting the changing balance of political forces in the Central Commission in accordance with election results, it was proposed that the decree establishing the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Albania be supplemented with an article providing for these changes. The meeting also highlighted the need for the commission to be headed by a representative proposed by the government, and the need to establish an electoral office whose head would be the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission. The meeting was characterized by a spirit of constructive debate and consensus.

The clans exploit the socialists’ confusion to consolidate their positions When the leftists leave... If previously Pëllumbi and Dokle appealed to the socialists to collect signatures and attend rallies to defend Nano, now these people, together with the other “epaulettes,” are leading the campaign seeking to bury Nano’s future as head of the Socialist Party once and for all. The clans exploit the socialists’ confusion to consolidate their positions SP conferences, property of the delegates When the leftists leave... Yesterday, the left-wing opposition parties were absent from the presidential table. Not all left-wing parties were absent, but the fact that the main left-wing party, the Socialist Party, was missing meant that the absence of the left predominated. Despite this absence, the discussion proceeded normally, and the other parties left satisfied with the results of the meeting. As the Press Office of the Presidency also pointed out, the procedures for forming the permanent Electoral Commission were defined. It was proposed that the representation of political parties in local government be taken as the basis for forming the commission. In general, the participating parties said that the commission should have an equal number of members representing both the opposition and the government. The absence of the socialists or social democrats was not very important to those who took part. Neither Pëllumbi nor Gjinushi had anything more to say than what was said in this discussion, and their proposals could not go beyond proposing that the commission’s representation reflect the results of the local elections. Perhaps Gjinushi would have said that parties that had won fewer votes should have more members, since the least significant people are also better arbitrators. He would then have presented the Alliance’s utopias and the theory of democratic revolution circulating among their initiatives and statements. None of the proposals made yesterday could be identified as left-wing or right-wing, or as proposals from winners or losers. This had psychologically disappeared among the participating representatives... If previously Pëllumbi and Dokle had appealed to the socialists to collect signatures and attend rallies to defend Nano, now these people, together with the other “epaulettes,” are leading the campaign seeking to bury Nano’s future as head of the Socialist Party once and for all. The conferences being held in the branches of the Socialist Party are revealing, more than ever before, the severe political crisis into which the largest opposition party has sunk. Nano’s clash with the leadership has brought the weapons down to the socialist grassroots, which had not fully believed the newspapers that regularly reported the swamp-like state that Nano acknowledged prevailed in their leadership. The confusion engulfing the socialists, rather than being used to advance renewal processes within the party, is being exploited by rival clans to consolidate their respective positions ahead of the congress. The first conferences are showing that the delegates of the leadership and the Steering Committee have also become an indication of the truth about which way the arrow of the movement points, toward the most... Socialist Party once and for all. Berisha’s prediction that the second phase of the congress will also be the phase in which the Socialist Party breaks apart seems likely to become this party’s fate very soon. The loud denials by Nano’s followers of reports that they and other small groups on the Albanian left are preparing to regroup after the SP congress are a pressure tactic they have chosen to use on the party’s grassroots, which they are in reality unable to control. While they declare with great insistence that Nano will remain chairman, they maintain that he will also be chairman of a Socialist Party. But it seems that this will not be a weapon... Perhaps Gjinushi would not let the [unclear] party that have joined [text cut off] have more members, since the least significant are also the better arbiters. Next, he would also present in their initiatives and statements. All the proposals made yesterday could not be distinguished as to whether they were left-wing or right-wing proposals, whether they were proposals by winners or losers. This was psychologically absent among the participating representatives, and no one displayed an inferiority complex or delusions of grandeur. Those who were absent remain so because of their day-to-day absences from their political actions. PAD could not take part because there was no part for it to speak on. Unfortunately, it managed to persuade the many-sided Gjinushi, and likewise the Socialists, frightened by their pressure about why they had sat at the table with the DP, and they decided this time to listen to their little brother. The DP’s tolerance was extraordinarily great. Lately it has not been making use of the benefits afforded by being the winner, continually treating itself as an equal, even though this is unjustifiable. The winning party is also the most important of the other parties, and this axiom is true for Albania as it is for other democratic countries. Yesterday it was proposed that the decree on the Central Election Commission be supplemented with an article reflecting the flexibility of political movements in Albania. This is precisely the part that most clearly expresses the lack of basis for the accusations by the politicians or the Socialists of a “fait accompli by Berisha.” The politicians, having always been losers, continue to feel that way even when there is no need to express this kind of fear. The DP or Berisha is not to blame for their pathologies and neuroses caused by who knows what deficiencies. It was also agreed that the commission must be headed by representatives proposed by the government. This proposal does not make the commission biased, as it has not been said that the government will belong to the Democratic Party for the entire time this election commission is in operation. In any case, the extreme leftists continue from time to time to return to the nostalgia awakened in them by the afternoon of May 26. Victory provided grounds for nostalgia, but defeats did not. As was also seen at yesterday’s meeting organized by the President, when the leftists leave, nothing happens. Among the Socialists, more than serving to advance renewal processes within the party, it is being used of the presidency and the Steering Committee have also become a more accurate indicator of where the arrow points toward the strongest figures in the party. While in Kuçovë Ermëlinda Meksik could not “beat” Nano’s Kumbaro, with Braca of ZP in the Berat branch, only [unclear text] was lost. The representation of the interests of Nano, the Socialist chairman imprisoned for ordinary crimes, seems more deranged than ever. While Nano has “cursed” almost all the well-known names in the Presidency and the Steering Committee, few people of any notable weight or influence among the Socialist grassroots remain by his side. Whereas previously Pellumbi and Dokle would approach the Socialists to collect signatures and turn out for rallies in defense of Nano, now these people [text cut off]

Letter from Fisher sent to Arbnori The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Ms Leni Fisher, as reported by the Press and Information Directorate of the People’s Assembly, has sent Mr Pjetër Arbnori the following letter in response to the invitation sent by the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly for the Council of Europe to coordinate assistance in monitoring the local elections of 20 October 1996: Dear Mr Chairman, Thank you for your letter of 30 July 1996, inviting the Parliamentary Assembly to observe the local elections of 20 October 1996 and to coordinate with the Electoral Commission of the Republic of Albania the assistance for monitoring these elections. They will be both an important test and a major contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Albania. for the consolidation of Democracy in Albania. I would like to mention that the Parliamentary Assembly had already decided to send an observer delegation to the local elections in Albania, possibly together with members of the Congress of Local and Regional Affairs of the Council of Europe. On 3 September, the Bureau of the Assembly will decide on the composition of this delegation and the arrangements for cooperation with the Congress. On this occasion, I will bring your invitation to the Assembly’s attention, inviting it to coordinate with the Albanian Electoral Commission the assistance for monitoring the local elections.

The chairman’s motion under Agolli’s stern autopsy In the face of a major backlash from the leadership, supported almost unanimously by the General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party, the terrifying prospect of being completely sidelined by the party loomed before Nano. In this climate of pessimism, the condition of the prisoner in Bença is thought to have worsened even further, following the disappointment caused by the weak response of his loyalists. The feminine defense they have so far mounted of their leader’s motion has led Nano to conclude, long before Agolli, that his people in the Socialist Party are “little kids.” Page 3

President Rugova:

After squandering BTA’s money on the socialist campaign, they are now seeking positions in local government Page 3

Comment from the Danish newspaper Weekendavisen, 1 August 1996 Albanians voted for themselves It seems likely that the OSCE observers were guided by their experience during the observation of elections in Albania. The drivers were from the Socialist Party, while the observers were their sympathizers, a recent report says Page 3