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| Democratic Party Headquarters |
According to the effects of a ruling by an appeals court on Friday night, Albania's largest opposition group cannot register candidates for the mayoral elections on May 14 under the name of the main opposition Democratic Party, local media say.
A decision from a lower court that recognized former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his supporters as the party's legally controlling faction was overturned by the appeals court last year.
The court had to say which of the two Democratic Party factions would be represented by the political force's logo in the upcoming local elections.
Back to the byelections on March 6, 2022, when Berisha's candidates had to run under the House of Freedom coalition registered by allies Freedom Party and Christian Democratic Party, the group led by Enkelejd Alibeaj can now choose to run candidates under the DP logo.
By-election results showed that the Berisha faction had a significant numerical advantage over the Alibeaj faction. However, because it was divided, it also lost most races to candidates from the Socialist Party, which is in charge.
Independent observers stated that the court rulings further harmed the opposition's chances of selecting mayoral seats. The deadline for the registration of political forces participating in the upcoming elections runs out on March 6.
The ruling was criticized by Berisha faction opposition representatives as "an end of political pluralism."
Belind Kellici, the winner of the primary elections to run as a candidate for mayor of Tirana for the Democratic Party led by Berisha, said, "My name will be on the ballot."
-Opposition holds protest rally On Friday, the Albanian opposition held a second protest rally against Prime Minister Edi Rama's government. At the same time, the Tirana Court of Appeal was discussing a ruling to determine the Democratic Party's legal leadership.
At the rally, representatives of the opposition claimed that Prime Minister Edi Rama was extorting money from the court with the intention of further dividing the opposition.
A lower court in Tirana recognized the National Party Assembly, which was called by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his supporters, and the decisions it made, which fired all of the party's structures and leading figures, as legal a year ago.
However, Enkelejd Alibeaj, the chairman of the parliamentary group and current leader of the party's anti-Berisha faction, which polls and election results indicate is in the minority, filed an appeal against the decision.
Mr. Berisha said the dissent doesn't have anything to do with the cycle in the Court of Allure, where as per him there is no legitimate premise to perceive Mr. Alibeaj as a party chief.
Because, in his words, "there is no other way to overthrow" Mr. Rama, he added, the opposition has initiated a "peaceful democratic revolution."
Mr. Berisha stated, "The overthrow of monism based on crime, drugs, theft, and the looting of Albanians is the goal of the revolution." The way Edi Rama and his criminal organization stole this nation has never been done before by a man.
DP's internal turmoil has lasted for years as a result of its previous leadership's decision to resign from parliament and boycott the most recent mayoral elections. Following that, it suffered an unprecedented third defeat at the general elections on April 25, 2021.
In addition, in May 2021, the State Department of the United States made it public that Mr. Berisha was a government official whose participation in "high-level corruption" prohibited him from entering the country. Mr. Berisha maintains that Prime Minister Rama orchestrated the smear campaign that led to the ban to keep the opposition weak.
Mr. Basha made the announcement in September 2021 that Berisha would be kicked out of the DP parliamentary group under pressure from officials from the United States. Mr. Berisha took control of the party's structures and headquarters as a result of the decision, launching a comeback movement against Mr. Basha within the ranks of the Democrats.
Two gatherings inside Albania's fundamental resistance Leftist alliance have been competing for control. On December 11, 2021, delegates from a significant portion of the Democratic Party met in an assembly to vote to remove the party's current leadership and to approve amendments to the party's constitution.
Following a string of electoral and political defeats, the delegates were made up of supporters of the former Prime Minister Berisha and others who have stated that they want change in Albania's main opposition party.