In electoral zone no. 4 in Berat, more than 1,600 ballot papers have been found invalid. At the insistence of the Socialist Party’s electoral subject in this district, the zone’s election commission is reviewing the voting results. In electoral zone no. 91 in Tirana, the following have been found invalid about 2,000 ballot papers. At polling station no. 53 in Bregu i Lumit and polling station no. 40 in Yzberisht, about 600 ballot papers were deemed invalid solely because the electoral subject had been crossed out and the parliamentary candidate left on the ballot. This is contrary to the law In electoral zone no. 39 in Korçë, the results in the official records were corrected at 25 polling stations. The corrected records were also submitted to the district’s Central Election Commission. Such violations have also occurred in other electoral zones.

The farther we get from March 22, the more credible—[?]—the realities of the coming days become. The Socialist Party has apparently gained a comfortable position, but this in no way means withdrawing from constructive political competition. Now, so to speak, a new life begins for it. In this election we lost today, but not the future; this does not mean that the alternative we represent has no future. Therefore, there must be no room for fatalism. The party’s members and sympathizers are experiencing this defeat on a scale that is absolutely unreal for the PS electorate and the alternative it represents. This should guide us toward a self-critical course, and lead us to focus more on ourselves than on finding ways to move forward. It is essential to understand correctly the pluralist nature of the party’s activity. The PS was created not simply to take part in an election campaign, but as an indispensable alternative for today and the future, especially for the historical stage into which we are entering. As a younger party, we will always be in opposition to the reality of European democratic capitalism. Those reincarnations of the Party of Labour, also reflected in the many rudiments of membership among people who, as they told us wherever we went, said that “we did not deserve their trust,” must have no place among us today or in the future. The March 22 electoral test, the first test for the Socialist Party, also serves as a good sieve. The indifferent and the cowardly are now distinguishing themselves, thereby further purifying the party. Evidence of this can be seen in the first days after the elections, when new applications to join the party arrived; when young Euro-socialists, students and [?] were admitted several days before the elections; and when they came to consult with the leadership committee and took on responsibilities for the future. Other young people, with clear socialist ideas and visions in the countryside and the cities, stand out as electoral forces through their ideas and determination. This fighting spirit is our strength, our belief and the future of the Socialist Party. It fills us with optimism about the socialist alternative, which will consolidate and open up new horizons for democracy in Albania.

It is neither the time nor the occasion to become pessimistic and despairing. With full awareness and free will, we entered and are contributing to an undertaking to make a pluralist society function, as an advanced expression of contemporary democracy; and precisely because we act in such a society, both victory and defeat for every political party are part of the logic of development. Neither party owns power and the governance of the country outright, nor can it hold them as its personal property. The periodic alternation of parties in power is a principle of pluralist society. We entered the elections of March 22 with the intention and will to win, but the people’s verdict sent us into opposition. This decision of the people is beyond reproach. Let us therefore accept this decision calmly and with dignity, describing it both as a natural phenomenon of pluralist democracy and as a challenge addressed to us. …get what we need to do. It is essential to understand correctly the new pluralist arena in which the Socialist Party operates. It was created not merely to take part in an election campaign, but as a necessary stage we are experiencing. As a new party, with the [unclear] advantages of the past on its shoulders, it inevitably faces a broad range of social and organizational issues. The internal aspect is also important and must be analyzed. For the party, a new era of comprehensive structuring and consolidation is now beginning, as a party… …is necessary for today and for the future, especially for the historical stage we are living through. As a new party, with the achievements of the past weighing on its shoulders, it inevitably has a whole range of social and organizational problems. And the internal aspect is a party… DRITAN CERMA Chairman of the Steering Committee of the PS district, Elbasan

In the whirlwind of reform As I go down the stairs, I hear my neighbor speaking passionately about price liberalization. He works at an industrial enterprise, and I have noticed that he has a “surplus” to sell privately from its products. I, a salaried employee with a fixed wage, simply cannot understand it. Or, more accurately, I do not like accepting it. I pass in front of “Iliria Holding” and my head starts spinning: a table costs 60 thousand lek (in old lek), a lathe 130 thousand, a door panel 150 thousand... The “freedom” of prices has got you by the soul! One of these days my neighbor looked annoyed. “They’re grinding us down,” he said. “The profiteers: spinach for 60 lek, oranges for 60 lek, arançata for 600 lek. The seller doesn’t even give you a receipt; he sells them on the black market.” What had happened? My neighbor had to play both buyer and seller; the same person would sit at the market when he occasionally sold something. What seemed like a free market to him was a black market. This time, the “freedom” of prices was adorned with a crown of bitter thorns. Price liberalization is a major debate of the transition throughout Eastern Europe. It is a turning point for inflation, or, given the social burden it carries, a social dilemma. What should come first: liberalizing prices, or privatizing and restructuring the economy? Here, desires, opinions and alternatives become hopelessly entangled in a vicious circle. But what ties our hands and feet is economic capacity. Liberalizing prices before privatization makes clear which enterprises deserve to survive in the competition. Meanwhile, leaving them as inefficient monopolies gives them the chance to make unmeasured profits, or encourages abuses that ultimately undermine the process itself. The costs, as in many other cases, were paid by the Socialist Party, which proved sluggish in governing. Nevertheless, for better or worse, a step was taken. Now the next one is expected. The “basket” keeps Albania alive today. The “basket” is Italian, free. Eighty-percent [unclear]. Its twin. Don’t complain too much, as has become our habit: white bread—from aid; [unclear]—from aid; butter—from aid; sugar—from aid. All at “socialist” prices. Is this a market economy? This is a hybrid model of two systems. But two things that are unnatural have been grafted together. I emphasize: by force. What “giant” will overturn the basket? I do not think prices today are entirely without a ceiling, as long as there is a “basket” of goods. Potatoes rose to 150 lek because meat was 200. The point is that a kilogram of butter sells for 360 lek. Macaroni rose to 400 because [unclear] survived at 50 lek. We shall see how these prices will fare in the open sky. The government, it seems, has made one thing clear: it said inflation would reach 8–10 percent. There is an appealing idea that releasing the reins on prices will revive the economy. It will not protect the domestic market from the flood of illegally imported goods and essential items, such as meat, etc. [?] I believe price liberalization, whether it is left on its own or imposed as a drastic measure, will not work unless the steps are coordinated. Some form of economic policy can proceed successfully, guided by planning and not by spontaneous actions against a powerful “enemy”—our disorganized economy. What did so-called liberalization bring? Waste and theft. A compromise [unclear] that is plainly visible in the silence surrounding cigarettes, macaroni, and even arançata. All simply to open the way for [unclear] without licenses or customs duties. To open the way for some people. Our strong currency, secured through [unclear] hardship, goes abroad to cover [unclear] in an abusive market and not at all for investment. Not a trace of productivity so far, which would revive the economy and increase [unclear], is visible anywhere. Meanwhile people are waiting for increases [unclear]. People are right to complain. But in this economic situation, every new wave of prices raises [unclear]. SHQYQRI MER…

ROME, March 7. – Foreign Minister Xhi de Mikelis will come to Albania next Wednesday to inspect Operation “Pelikan.” De Mikelis’s visit was announced today during the weekly press conference by a spokesperson for Farnenzina. The schedule of meetings is being drawn up and is nearly complete.

…s a TV news item that work may resume at a collective enterprise in Tirana, and after [seeing] a truck with a foreign license plate being sold for … thousand dollars – One, two, three days have passed since the elections. Many people are rejoicing, while a few are [unclear]… We have seen these days an endless, completely [unclear]… unfolding, as well as a deep upheaval, likewise entirely [unclear]… It is not simply, I think, … the position… [unclear] that positions people in this way. It is the ele… that does not [unclear] in life… … Within 14 months the opposition force, the Democratic Party… [unclear]… the people’s free vote… the historic responsibility of [unclear]… to take the reins directly… of the affairs and state of a [unclear]… This—apparently… Economy and democracy. To [unclear] more… … What should be done in the future? … by… But by [unclear]… by democracy… developed… Responsibility… … Yes… the people are… extremely… have… for… … days… and then, to make way for foreign investment, etc. When will this happen? Electoral promises have now given way to waiting, and to checking what was said. The truth is that the people were promised a great deal. They deserve every promise and its fulfillment. But wishes and possibilities are different things. With all our hearts, we tell those in power: may your path be clear, without any party jealousy, provided you quickly bring Albania out of [unclear] the chaos, this poverty and this unprecedented paralysis. We ourselves are amazed at how we got through this winter, often without heat, light or water, securing food rations and surviving [unclear] on foreign aid, but also facing prices that made other goods unaffordable, with wages that [unclear] as soon as [unclear] signed… People want to live differently; people expect to live differently. In this situation, the best form of government is a real puzzle with thousands of unknowns. The opposition—now the government—will govern on its own; the Socialists are ready to take part in governing, but before [unclear]… the opposition hesitated… People are waiting to see the great act of governing, or, more precisely, the great act of fulfilling their hopes. A narrow-minded view of things says that the Socialist Party’s position in opposition is comfortable, like a game, like the eternal struggle of cat and mouse. But Albania, and the Socialist Party itself, do not need such politicians or such games. Albania needs everyone’s mind and hands, [unclear]… only the act of… … Ahead of us are elections for local government bodies. There, votes for the parties, [unclear]… the vote… itself… We have ahead of us… … why the people gave the opposition their vote so overwhelmingly. … People live differently… themselves… … Person… … Here for… …the economic vision. Liberalizing prices before privatization makes it clear which enterprises are capable of surviving in the competition. Meanwhile, a state monopoly creates opportunities for them to make unearned profits, or fuels a wave of abuses that could compromise the process itself. Our political economists, original as ever, apparently chose this course in a moment of passion. Apparently, our reform is proceeding by self-destruction. Yes, by self-destruction. I cannot put it any other way, since the fundamental law of the reform—the one on price liberalization—was not «awakened» by parliament. Truly spectacular. An order of the day from the Ministry of Finance and… libertà! What passionate times. The right-wing opposition, (not) in power, liberalized prices! The traders woke up «freed» from the shackles of unbearable centralism, while the humble buy…ers hurried to the state’s monopol… price, without a fuss, as people waited for the drums to beat. The political noise left them speechless. With one shrewd move, the opposition killed two birds with one stone: it eased somewhat the burden of the power it would take on tomorrow, while the dissatisfied citizens it… …also warmed by the warm embraces they receive on this occasion. The PD, but as for the …, words seem to fade into a haze. The opposition’s great and complete victory in this sense will be real when every cell of our life has a new breath, when today’s pessimism is replaced by optimism, when the dead end is replaced by a clear perspective. The Socialists, faced with this situation, analyze themselves, rally their forces, and correct their methods of work. They have appeared on the scene as bearers of the ideals of the poor and the privileged classes. Today, all Albanians are unprivileged, except those who were the «red aristocrats», and those who can expect this change of power to let them climb onto the people’s backs as rulers of old. The people watch and wait. Democracy, for which the people cast their vote, is in this sense an outlet for the great accumulated discontent. Let us believe in the wise saying that discontent is the first step toward progress. These are the feelings stirred in me by two facts—the notice to the workers of the enterprise in Tirana to come to work the next day, perhaps to start again and never stop again, and a truck carrying foreign goods, which sells for 3,000 dollars, nearly 2.5 million old lek, as much as the monthly wages of that workforce. That collective hopes to embark on a new path, because it is sweating every day for better days. ALBERT SHIALA

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Dr. Bujar Bukoshi, is in Helsinki, where he is taking part in the CSCE meeting, organized primarily to address the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh and the former Yugoslavia. As the Kosovo newspaper “Bujku” writes, the Kosovar prime minister, Dr. Bujar Bukoshi, together with the Albanian foreign minister, Ilir Boçka, held meetings with dozens of delegations from different countries. The Kosovar prime minister is seeking support for recognition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo. At this meeting, a declaration has also been presented by the [unclear] committee of Helsinki, in which it is demanded… [unclear] concerning Kosovo and [unclear]… Albanian participation is being requested… in the talks taking place in Brussels to find a solution for the territories of the former Yugoslavia. Ilir Boçka, speaking at… (continued on page 4)

BRUSSELS, March 27. – The economic and trade cooperation agreement between the EEC and Albania will be signed next month, diplomatic sources in Brussels announced. The ceremony may take place on the eve of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EEC’s foreign cooperation… In this regard, without excluding the prospect of broader development, economic and trade cooperation is assured with 17 countries, covering a framework of relations and a number of key sectors: agriculture, industry, bilateral investments, as well as… Albania, projects… So far Albania has signed… The Community… doubled from 63 million… from 50 million to 63 million… Albanian products have been exported to the EEC…

Through its daily activity, its program, and its parliamentary group, the Socialist Party will surely continue to be a major, constructive and vital force for the destiny and normal development of democratic processes in Albania.

On convening the People’s Assembly for the First Session of the 13th Legislature Pursuant to Article 28, paragraph 2, of Law No. 7491, dated 29.4.1991, “On the Main Constitutional Provisions.” I decree: The convening of Legislature on 4 April 1992, Saturday, at 10:00. This decree enters into force immediately. Decree No. 159. Date of decree: 27.3.1992 RAMIZ ALIA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

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