ALBANIA: Albanian politicians meet to agree on name for president

Leading Albanian politicians are meeting in Tirana in the hope of avoiding a snap general election over the choosing of a president. Two weeks of negotiations between the two main parties has failed to produce a candidate acceptable to both sides. The leaders of Albania's six main political parties have been meeting in the capital Tirana, on Friday (July 6), in the hope of agreeing on a specific candidate for the country's president. Three members of the government coalition and three from the opposition were taking part in the meeting, following an agreement on Thursday (July 5) to select a president by consensus. The parliamentarians have asked parliament to schedule a vote on Sunday (July 8) to back their choice and avoid a snap general election, party leaders said. Two weeks of negotiations between the two main parties had failed to produce a candidate acceptable to both sides. Two sessions of parliament had been held on the issue without coming to a vote on a specific name. Thursday's meeting took place to make sure they did not miss the chance to vote in a third session since that would trigger the dissolution of parliament and snap elections. No party has the 84 votes needed to elect a president alone. The European Union and Albania's western backers say the country cannot afford to waste time holding a new election simply because politicians cannot agree on who should be head of state, a largely ceremonial position. The ruling Democrats and opposition Socialists had blamed each other for the impasse in what the media has been dubbing "a boring soap opera". Speaking in parliament on Wednesday (July 4), Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha scoffed at a Socialist list of candidates which named the party's ex-premiers. "Let us forget the elephants and discuss more acceptable candidate," Berisha said. Berisha kept open the possibility of snap elections and even of changing the constitution to elect the president directly, a prospect likely to annoy European backers. "The constitution, the main law of the country, has been toyed with in an extreme manner. We have been trying for a long time to stop this march of madness," he said. Asked by reporters on Thursday if they had enough time to come up with a suitable candidate, opposition politician Skender Gjinushi said they were confident of reaching a deal by Sunday because the process was in its final stage. Friday's meeting is also expected to result in details of a package of reforms needed to help Albania eventually join the EU and NATO. The reforms are likely to cover the judiciary, local government and the electoral system

ITN Source | July 9, 2007

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