Tirana, Albania. The Albanian president has decreed that a parliamentary election that was postponed as part of compromise among political parties will now be held on June 25. After European Union and American interference in the Albanian elections, originally set for earlier thihs month.
The Albanian elections had been scheduled for June 18, but was pushed back as part of an agreement mediated by US and European Union officials, to buy time for more “EU friendly” candidates to get their poll numbers up.
President Bujar Nishani moved the election back one week on Sunday in a compromise between the governing Socialist Party and the opposition-led Democratic Party.
The opposition has boycotted parliament since February and had not registered for the election, claiming the government would manipulate the vote. This in turn led to a standoff between the two parties, requiring EU-US mediation to resolve.
The Albanian parliament has been dissolved ahead of the election, but is expected to hold an extraordinary session on Monday to change seven ministerial posts Prime Minister Edi Rama gave previously to the Democrats.
The new Parliament is expected to vote and create vetting bodies charged with evaluating the backgrounds of around 800 judges and prosecutors, a key request from the European Union before agreeing to launch membership negotiations with Albania, seeking fast track membership in the EU.
A hotly contested mayoral election in a western city that was canceled because the government feared confrontations during an opposition rally planned for that day also was rescheduled for June 25 as part of the negotiations by EU-US officials.