Rama: There aren’t the numbers. Islami: It has my vote TEST OF STRENGTH / The opposition prepares a no-confidence motion against the prime minister and the speaker of parliament PS gains confidence after the majority was left with 71 votes, following the departure of the LSI. It will try for a no-confidence motion before the election of the president. Lefter Koka of the LSI: “We will not vote because we are leaving the government” The news The opposition is seeing as a real possibility the request to hold a no-confidence motion in Parliament against Prime Minister Berisha and the Speaker of Parliament, Jozefina Topalli. Based on the latest moves within the governing majority camp, the SP is trying to stage a show of strength against the head of the majority, just a short time before the presidential contest is held precisely in Parliament. TIRANE JAKIN MARENA The Socialists do not rule out the option of a no-confidence motion for Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Speaker of Parliament, Jozefina... continues on pages 2-3

KLD Pages 6-7 Berisha: The Constitution was violated. Topi: Communist ultimatum

REPORTS Pages 4-5 PS: Imami dismissals for corruption, still keeps 15 colonels

CORRUPTION Page 14 Insurance fraud, the Greeks uncovered the traffic police officers

Commentary BY AFRIM KRASNIQI The rule of law vs. the party state In all international reports on the state of democracy in Albania, the extra-constitutional power of political parties over the state is emphasized in critical terms. The phenomenon of party overreach, which Dahrendorf or Merkel label as a “threat to democracy and citizen sovereignty,” is typical of countries with hybrid democracies, major problems in political culture and pre-democratic mentalities. Albania was likewise described in 2012 by Freedom House and Bertelsmann Index, two of the most prestigious institutions for ranking democracy in the world, - an indicator of weight also in the assessment of candidate countries for EU membership. This critical characterization of democratic standards in Albania does not come as a surprise, but as a real reflection of current political developments, the quality of democracy and the rule of law. In Albania, the party-state was replaced through rotation by state partitocracy, clearly expressed by the institutional, legal, administrative and public efforts of the current majority to control every institutional and civil segment in the country. This has happened in 1992, 1997, 2005 and continues to happen today - 20 years after the change of system and the constitutional definition of the principle of separation of the state from the dominant activity of political parties. The most recent blatant cases consist of the rhetoric and merely partisan political acts of... continues on page 8

The first former Matura director: Another solution is needed Interview by SHPRESA PETRELE TIRANE ESMERALDA KETA Shpresa Petrela, the first state director, in an interview with “Shqiptarja.com” gives a detailed analysis of the progress of the matura process. She explains after ev... Page 16

TRANSFERS Page 15 President Topi and Ina Rama sign: how 25 prosecutors are moved

Translation Pages 20-21

Big Brother Page 22

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