FLASH
Shkruar nga Preç Zogaj
The DP has lost a lot from this type of sectarianism which, if it continues, risks further reducing it and turning it into a political sect.
The implementation of the article* of the unconditional resignation of the chairman when the party loses the elections is primarily a matter of the chairman's respect for the basic law of the Party, for those who voted for that article, and for the entire membership as a voluntary union around universally accepted rules.
There is no discussion here about who is asking for it and who is not asking for it, who is against it and who is in favor of it. This discussion has been sealed with the entry into force of the statute. Which, as is known, has been accepted over time by a majority of deputies and thousands of ordinary democrats who were not part of the DP that Berisha was re-establishing in December 2021. Some in response to his call. Others following the official logo according to the decision made by the Court of Appeal.
The massive recount of ballot boxes in several large districts and the ongoing review of complaints has delayed the final announcement of the election results by the CEC. Formally, Berisha is buying this time to postpone facing the taxing article of resignation with the justification that the elections have not ended. But this is not the argument used by opponents of the implementation of the article.
In the debates and discussions on this topic, we see that many of them do not connect their position either to the recount (which has so far confirmed with negligible fluctuations the heroic work of the party counters), or to the result. They are looking for other reasons for the electoral defeat. Secondary, tertiary, even imaginary. Reasons such as the water flowing clear at the top, but being muddied at the bottom by unsuitable, spineless candidates who have tricked the doctor, and so on. A new smear campaign and a new hysteria of calls for the party to be cleansed have erupted over these fictions!
Leninist-Enverist theories of cleansing are early in the DP. They are part of a sectarian mentality that is called into action or understands itself when it must explode against a different opinion every time Berisha loses the elections or has some personal problem. Forgetting or not knowing that the theories and practices of cleansing are costless in single-party regimes. While they are suicidal and ridiculous in a pluralist system, especially for a popular party that exists as an alternative to power.
The DP has lost a lot from this type of sectarianism which, if it continues, risks further reducing it and turning it into a political sect.
Renewal, the circulation of elites, the renewal of forums with free and equal elections, meritocracy, maintaining a healthy balance between the old and the young, opening doors and especially opening minds - all of these are vital for an opposition party. From the first year when it comes to opposition. And not anymore when it loses elections several times in a row. This is precisely what is not done in the DP. With the same justifications that only atrophy a party.
It is true that the closure of the lists and the protection of the candidates of the closed list from the popular vote has negatively affected the result of the main opposition. Also the unprecedented division of the candidates into mother and stepmother. Also the campaigning with deeply anti-popular stances, such as the anti-SPAK stance, which can go to a party that is counting on remaining in the minority, but in no way to a party that aims to seize power. All of these and many others have an author. Sali Berisha. No candidate can be blamed before him. This is our system of mayors. The mayor wins or loses.
The recount of ballot boxes is clearly showing that electoral manipulations in Albania are no longer done like they used to be on election day. They are an inter-election phenomenon that I have called the siege of the elections by Rama and his party. When they happily gave the consensus to vote on the auto-goal laws, the closure of the lists and the voting of the diaspora in a form where the party with the greatest organizational power would clearly have the advantage, the DP has been aware of how the pre-election siege of the elections works. Which, in addition to adequate interventions in the Electoral Code, can be broken primarily with a breath. That the Basha-Kryemadhi opposition had to some extent in the 2021 elections where it came out with only 37 thousand votes difference with the PS. A difference that went over two hundred and fifty thousand votes in the May 11 elections.
This summer will pass. The moment of truth will come when Berisha cannot avoid meeting the resignation article. As with many other similar narratives for his followers. What to do?
The wording of the article has left no room for subjective interpretations. There are two options. Either implement it. Or call on those who voted for it to repeal it. This way, legitimacy is at least preserved!
*Article 45 of the DPA statute states: "If, after the announcement of the results of the general elections for the Assembly, the Party does not result in a winning governing force, the mandate ends immediately and automatically due to the Statute. In this case, the chairman whose mandate ends is not allowed to run in the subsequent elections for party chairman."
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