Sali Berisha, leader of Albania’s opposition, has firmly rejected proposed changes to the electoral law, accusing the government of undermining citizens’ rights. The changes, which will be put to a parliamentary vote in the coming days, involve shifting the deadline for submitting candidate lists and paying for postal services for Albanians abroad.
While Berisha’s Democratic Party (PD) supports the amendment to cover postal costs for emigrants, they oppose the government’s proposal to push the candidate list submission deadline by 10 days.
Speaking at a midday press conference, Berisha stated the PD would not support changes that “don’t recognize foreign documents” for Albanians living abroad. “If the government refuses to accept foreign ID documents, we will not vote for the amendments,” Berisha declared.
The vote is expected to take place by February 13, with 84 votes required for the constitutional changes to pass. Berisha’s message to the ruling Socialist Party is clear: “If you don’t recognize the foreign documents of our citizens, we won’t support the deadline extension.”
