Toward the November 6 referendum - 16 parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, left-wing, center and right-wing, which make up the entire Albanian political spectrum, oppose the referendum unlawfully called by President Berisha to approve the Draft Constitution - By violating the laws, the DP opposes democratic processes and isolates itself

Now that November 6, the day of the Referendum on the Draft Constitution, is approaching, some voices are deliberately growing louder, saying, «The DP is in power, so it will do whatever it wants with the votes.» . Now that November 6, the day of the Referendum on the Draft Constitution, is approaching, some voices are deliberately growing louder, saying, «The DP is in power, so it will do whatever it wants with the votes. It is pointless to call for a free vote. The result of the referendum is already decided.» You can hear such views in the street, in family conversations, in cafés. Socialists should not be afraid of manipulation. It is true that even to this day the final results of the July 26, 1992 elections have not been announced (?!); it is true that during the voting on the 26-[text continues outside the frame] 2. Socialists, who have been hit during the two and a half years of DP rule by Article 24-1 and other forms of a new class war, have shown themselves to be honest people who aspire to true democracy and only to the proper implementation of the law. 3. And this is the main point: the Socialist Party has more than half of those elected to local government bodies at every level. This large group of elected people must not allow any violation of the law; they must remain vigilant to assess—[text continues outside the frame]—and recognize that even a single «yes» or «no», that is, even one vote, determines the entire referendum. Why am I drawing attention to this issue? According to the information we have, in all eight communes in the Tropojë district, the commissions for referendum voting, including their chairpersons and secretaries, are made up solely of DP members. This is unlawful. In the opposite extreme, the Socialist Party must act quickly. It has plenty of people and must mobilize them so that even at the most remote polling commission they safeguard the proper application of the law.

BERAT — NO to unconstitutional actions BERAT NO to unconstitutional actions At the assembly of the Socialist Party of Berat, attended by comrades Ilir Meta and Mago Lakrori, delegates from the KPD, participants’ discussions focused on the party’s political, propaganda and organizational issues in the district in order to (Continued on page 3)

The assembly of the PS of Skrapar, which lasted more than three hours, began and ended with the optimism that «NO» would prevail on November 6 throughout Albania. This was evident from the very opening remarks of the activity by the deputy chairman of the (Continued on page 3)

MIRDITË

- How Article 16 of the law on referendums should be interpreted - In all the districts, the district councils are headed by the Democratic Party, and a serious concern has arisen. The municipal and district commissions are being appointed by the district councils, and, overall, these councils appoint both the chairpersons and the commission secretaries from among PD representatives, or in all these commissions the chairperson is appointed by PD and the secretary by PS. Regarding the request concerning the authority of the voting commissions, it is said that this belongs to the polling stations. This is an arbitrary act. In our opinion, the law on referendums has many shortcomings. And these— a free vote. A referendum whose result is already known. You can hear such opinions in the streets, in family conversations, in cafés. The that to this day the final results of the elections of 26 July 1992 (!) have still not been released; it is true that under the rule of the DP we have become accustomed to both Zall-Herr and Libofshë; it is true that we have also heard E. Selami say the day after the latest elections in 5 municipalities that the DP had won in all five, when the truth was otherwise. All these things form the basis for the fear that the referendum will be manipulated. The Socialists will counter this fear with: 1. Correct implementation of the law, insisting to the very end that no link in the chain, no document, no signature or seal be allowed to become the “prey” of those who seek to make a mockery of the people’s vote. 2. For example: The first concerns have come from the districts of Tropojë and Dibër, from Rrogozhinë, etc. In response to the PS’s question as to why this is being done, representatives of the DP authorities reply: The law gives them this authority. In some districts, the district councils are also seeking to appoint the commissions for the polling stations. This is an arbitrary action. Our view is that the law on the referendum has quite a few shortcomings. And th-

Mr. Tritan Shehu, Secretary General of PD, «defending» the draft constitution - Albanians saw Tritan Shehu on television, n.n. He was defending the party. You feel sorry for him. He stammers. He gets half the words out. And he thinks that occupying a seat for life makes you an expert in everything—not just a half-baked lawyer, but a true constitutionalist who has at his fingertips all the thorny issues raised by the adoption of a constitution. In the television debate the night before last, where he was almost alone, the Doctor of Sciences could find nothing else to say as his main arguments for defending the draft Constitution and the path being followed to bring it into force, except: «you defend agricultural cooperatives, you uphold class warfare, you support prison policies, you speak the language of party secretaries who manipulate, you distort, etc., etc. What a way to defend the draft constitution! Of course, defending a law or one of its paragraphs—let alone a draft constitution—requires professional competence. Tritan does not have that. You cannot become a lawyer by order of the Party. Indeed, it looks as though some hidden hand sent him to this «television debate» to discredit him by exposing his incompetence. To defend a law, and all the more so a constitution, all he could say was «you defend ...»

Once again This is explicitly set out in the Main Constitutional Provisions, which for two and a half years have served as a kind of small constitution for Albania's transition from a state governed by law. It is precisely Article 16 of these provisions that says the Constitution is adopted by Parliament. Then why was the route of holding a referendum to adopt it chosen, bypassing Parliament? Because PD, the so-called party of great expression, acting in Albanian political life with a neo-communist mentality and its rigid stance, does not currently have two-thirds of Parliament on its side. It has been left isolated. Deputies have «left» its ranks, and two other parties have now emerged. It has also turned against its March 22 allies, PSD and PR. Their coalition was more a façade to present PD as enjoying broader popular unity than a political solution for securing the broadest possible governing base. Under these circumstances, since PD cannot obtain the other forces' consensus in Parliament for adopting the draft Constitution, with which it has done whatever it pleased, it has been forced to find other, now illegal, ways to overcome this constitutional obstacle. Through the President, it sought these routes via the «Constituent Assembly», which proved to be a soap-bubble fiction, and now, again through the President, it is calling for a referendum, which is also an illegal way to adopt the Constitution. No one from PD, not even the President, has been able to answer the question: Why did the draft Constitution, prepared by the Special Parliamentary Commission charged by the People's Assembly with drafting the Constitution, not go from the Commission to the Assembly, but instead to the President? This is where the violation begins. As for the claim being propagated that calling a referendum is a legal right of the President, we can say that a right cannot be established by violating a constitutional law, as was done. Thus, the only legal way to adopt the constitution would be for the draft constitution to pass from the Commission to Parliament and be approved there by a two-thirds vote or by consensus. Bypassing Parliament is a major violation of the law.

We cannot agree with a party constitution After the speech by the PS chairman of this district, Mark Nikolli, at the PS gathering held in the Palace of Culture, concerning the situation that had arisen, including in Mirditë, over the referendum, the deputy took the floor (Continued on page 3)

We will take part in the vote and say NO to the draft constitution being served up to us by PD and Berisha This was the leitmotif running through the gatherings of the Socialist Party in the districts of Tropojë and Pukë. The gatherings unanimously expressed their position on— (Continued on page 3)

We cannot vote for illegality These days, an expanded gathering of the PS of Sarandë district met at the «Butrinti» cinema-theater in the city, concerning the stance and the measures that should be taken for the campaign to vote on the draft constitution. (Continued on page 3)

One NO will decide the fate of Albanian democracy «While they say that the Democratic Constitution is being adopted,» said at the gathering the chairman of the PS steering committee of Pe- «While they say that the Democratic Constitution is being adopted,» said at the gathering the chairman of the PS steering committee of Peshkopi, Xhelil Cibaku, «in fact, it ... (Continued on page 3)

The Constitution is not adopted by «BESE» but in accordance with the laws If Noli were alive, and had not been to Kukës and Has for five years, and went there now, in this era of «democracy» of the latest type, by automobile (not by helicopter as PD party officials and those in power do), after bouncing around in the «democratic» potholes of the national Pukshari-Kukës road, he would shout: «Infrastructure!». (Continued on page 3)

Today, on 19.10.1994 at 11:00, a press conference of this party will be held at the headquarters of the Socialist Party regarding the referendum. Journalists from the press, Radio-Television, ATSH, and representatives of the diplomatic corps are invited to attend. Press and Information Office of the PSSH.

Legislative powers ALBANIAN PRESIDENT 1. Has the right of legislative initiative (proposes draft laws to the People’s Assembly) 2. Has the right of constitutional initiative (proposes constitutional amendments and additions to the People’s Assembly) 3. Has the sole right to call referendums 4. Issues decrees that have the force of law until they are approved or rejected by Parliament 5. Has the right to veto Parliament’s laws AMERICAN PRESIDENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Has the right of veto (overridden by 2/3 of Parliament) 6. 7. 8. 9.