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Albania Political Briefing: Edi Rama Seals a Third Term in Power Marsela Musabelliu

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Albania Political Briefing: Edi Rama Seals a Third Term in Power Marsela Musabelliu ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 40, No. 1 (Al) May 2021 Albania political briefing: Edi Rama seals a third term in power Marsela Musabelliu 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: CHen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 Edi Rama seals a third term in power Summary The former, current and future Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama now has four more years to apply his agenda and mold the country into his own image. He made history by being the only Albanian leader to win three mandates in a row after the regime change in 1991. He made history indeed, for what kind of history, we are not sure of. It was expected for Rama to win, but not at this scale. His party now does not need any compromise or deal with the opposition because the mandates gained are enough to have the majority necessary for forming the new government. Introduction The much awaited general elections were held in Albania on April 25th – and the Socialist Party (PS) won the majority. For the next four year Edi Rama will be in charge of the executive branch (the Government) and the legislative branch (the Parliament). We claim the name of the leader and not of the political force because this is the practical/political reality of Albania. The race was harsh and dominated the past months with the main political fractions of the country in deep competition. There was much at stake, and much was done. With this election it seems that Rama obliterates the opposition for the next four years. The race to power In the midst of the pandemic with restrictions of group gatherings, with a crippled economy, with frustration visible on the low and mid-income class being obvious – politics did not retreat. Nothing was spared in the pre-elections discourse. While the PS was very comfortable in the field being eight years in power, the Democratic Party (PD) and the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) did neither inspire nor mobilize enough. However, to be correct in principle, none of the political parties displayed any decent and realistic program. Furthermore none of them truly galvanized their base because none of them has any idealistic approach to the future of the country. The race, as the outcome was cold, pragmatic, based on individual interests and calculatingly ruthless. It mattered only how much one candidate can achieve in terms of votes, without pondering the true feelings of the people. Obtaining votes in Albania for a candidate does not mean voters truly like the person. More of than ever it is a tit-for-tat kind of situation. The 1 exchange might be in terms of financial incentives, a new job in the administration, a business license, and of course when the stakes are high, governmental contracts. As the strong are getting stronger, so is their grip on power. The results Some exit polls that were released immediately after the termination of the voting process portrayed a picture of an extremely close outcome. However the next morning it was obvious that the leading PS was way ahead in the votes count. There are needed 71 seats for the majority in the Parliament, out of a total of 140. The PS won 74 of them, plus there are three more seats going their way from the smaller PSD (Social Democratic Party). With these results, not only the PS can rule as it pleases without needing to compromise with the opposition, but they can have the final say on all legislative matters. Final results of the Albanian general elections 2021 Source: BalkanWeb There are 12 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's 12 administrative regions. Out of the 12 counties of Albania, 8 voted the left and 4 voted the right. Of course there is mix in between and within the same region, however, the outcome is clear. Sadly, the centuries long regional, unnatural divide of Albanians between the South and the North, is being used by politics to seal the seats in the Parliament according to counties. 2 How and why? The main question remains, were the last eight years so successful for the country that citizens decided to give Rama four more years in charge? By all considerations, no! During his tenure as PM, an estimation of 500 thousand Albanians left the country. Scandals related to criminal activities of people close to politics were common news. Nepotism and favors replaced meritocracy and integrity. Corruption was and still is, present everywhere. The earthquake and the pandemic crippled the economy and the response has been minimal. So, why did Albanians vote Rama, again? – The answers might be more complex than the question, however, there are some main indictors that tipped the scale in Rama’s favor more than for others. First and foremost, lack of options. The right wing PD, and the (in theory) center left LSI had not much to offer. Their overly consumed political leaders did not send a message of hope and change. And how could they, while they were in charge of the country Albanians could witness firsthand what the political brutality of the right means. Apparently collective memory in Albania is not short, even though almost a decade later, even a corroded administration like the one with Rama in charge, was a better option than the PD. Second, mobilization of the bureaucratic apparatus at an unprecedented scale. Albanians who work for any government entity have one thing in common, they owe the party in power votes. It is not important if a given citizen is the director of an elementary school or the mayor of a city, if they are working under the administration, they and their family have to vote the party in power. Most of the times it is the party that provided them with a job, and of course the job comes with strings attached. Third, 61 municipalities in Albania as of 2019 have among their staff only citizens of who are inclined to the party in power. Starting from Tirana municipality with over 6,000 people in their staff, to a smaller one with 400, to these people continuity of power means continuity of income. And the vote of their immediate family and friends is taken for granted. Fourth, plenty of cash on the ground. It appears that the poorer Albanians get, the cheaper the vote becomes. Sadly, the vote-for-money practice is not new in the country. This time around was also present. This practice of course cannot be proven because these are unaccounted for money, yet it is known. Two months prior to the elections there was a record high withdraws of cash from banks. This made also the forging currency drop many points. Fifth, pre-election positive and negative “incentives”. Only a couple of days after the elections it was made public that the governments gave to the families hit by the earthquake disbursement for reconstructions. Unconfirmed data claim a total of 40 million Euros given just prior to the elections. These amount of money was certainly promised to the unfortunate of the 3 devastating event, yet, giving them the money just prior to the elections makes suspicions even deeper. On the other hand, in terms of negative incentives, it can be mentioned that there are claims (in the county of Dibra) of people being intimidated into voting otherwise they would be denied their welfare. This hits the poorest areas and families, thus they can be easily coerced. Sixth, the international partners approval for Rama. Never prior in the history of the Albanian elections the international community has recognized an election process as fast as the one of April 25th. Just three days after there was what the Albanian media would name “the United States seal of approval” and “the European Union blessing”. Their endorsement is by all consideration an assurance for the continuity of power. Seventh, the losing side of this election process, the PD and the LSI, have obtained these outcome mainly as a result of their own doing. By going out of the Parliament and not participating in the local elections of 2019, they sealed their own defeat for 2021. A vacuum of opposition was present for two years in all administrative offices, and two year are a long time when votes are needed. The early aftermath of the elections In 30 years of transition the same story repeats itself after the elections. The winner hails the process and the voters, the looser does not recognize the outcome. The leader of the opposition, Lulzim Basha, claims the elections were stolen, the former leader of the opposition Sali Berisha, names it an “industrial purchase of vote”. To the already divided Democratic Party, voices of discontent and request for Basha to resign are multiplying. However, as of early May it seems that the PD leader is not going anywhere. On the other hand, the confidence of the Socialist Party is translating into immediate actions, since they created a Parliamentary Commission asking for the dismissal of the President Ilir Meta. Conclusion The April 25th election result does not reflect the social reality in Albania, but the ability of political parties to mobilize human resources through the “electoral machinery”. This electoral machinery that is getting more powerful on each election cycle is reiterating the habit of “choosing the lesser of two evils”. The Socialist Party won the elections, but given the track record of the past eight years where no socialist principle was applied in policymaking, the future is more confusing than 4 ever.
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