Addressing the European People’s Party (EPP) group in Strasbourg, Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of attempting to “steal” a fourth government term through political arrests of opposition leaders and collusion with criminal gangs.
“These elections are a process with a massive vote-buying machine and a massive fear machine that controls the will of the people. The Albanian Prime Minister himself hosted a coordinator of all these criminal organizations in his office, and his name is very well known,” Berisha alleged.
Berisha asserted that Albania is under a dictatorship, where laws and the Constitution are violated, and appealed to sister parties to monitor the May 11 electoral process.
“We have requested a Truth Commission with our partners. He does not respect any law of the Electoral Code. In these weeks, the prime minister himself will give €100 to every pensioner as a gift for their vote. Besides this, there is cannabis for votes; he has distributed 148 licenses to grow cannabis throughout the country,” Berisha claimed.
EPP group leader in Strasbourg, Pablo Hispan, assured Berisha of their support. “As you know, you have our greatest support, and the group wishes you success, with the conviction that you will win in the upcoming elections. We will bring a large delegation from the European People’s Parties to monitor the elections, to support democracy and transparency for the Albanian people,” Hispan said.
During a meeting with the Conservative group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Berisha also expressed concern about the government’s installation of DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) technology in Albania.
“Just like Habibullah in Kabul, he blocked TikTok. And now he has installed the DPI device to also control the internet. This is true. As soon as young people started criticizing him on TikTok, he banned and blocked TikTok two weeks ago. He is doing everything to limit our communication with the people,” Berisha emphasized.
Another of Berisha’s concerns raised at the EPP meeting was the alleged disregard for international human rights and minority rights standards, citing the arrest of Fredi Beleri, a member of the European Parliament.
