"They can claim that aliens vote for the DP"/ Balla: Shame will remain with them, we don't have 84 mandates!

2025-02-03 21:25:00, Politikë CNA

"They can claim that aliens vote for the DP"/ Balla: Shame will remain

The political leader of the Socialist Party for the Diaspora, Taulant Balla, in an interview with "A2CNN", also touched on the topic of amending the Electoral Code to facilitate the participation and registration of immigrants in the May 11 elections. Balla said that the Socialist Party does not have the 84 mandates necessary to make the change to the Electoral Code alone.

"The first is that we have never had 84 votes. The Socialist Party has never had 84 votes. We have been the only party that has historically asked for the Diaspora vote, even in opposition and throughout all these years. The Albanian people have never given us 84 mandates to decide for ourselves and we have been forced to, and that is why the Diaspora vote was delayed for so many years.

We are now in the middle of the registration process. At this stage, two elements have emerged that were not raised by us but have caught our attention and we have reflected on them as soon as the process began. The first thing that compatriots have raised and I join them.

It's: "Well, we Albanians in the Diaspora will have to pay for our vote with lek. I in the US have to pay 45 dollars to mail my ballot to Tirana."

And here the Prime Minister said that we are ready to give the CEC all the necessary funds to cover all the expenses in the outbound trip that it has by law, but also in the return trip. Now we have an element that we need to change the law. Is there any opposition in the world that says we will win. Do these people say we will win. Exactly, come on, unite the vote.

The second element is that the CEC rightly says that if candidates register 50 days before the election, which means that it will take 10 days to draft and print the ballot, then I have less than 40 days left to send the ballot to Alaska and have the ballot returned.

Then the CEC rightly says that these political parties should have their candidates ready, why not extend the deadline for candidate registration to 60 days. This does not affect the process.

The impasse with the DP - These people can come and upon request, aliens are allowed to vote. No! Because for the SP, for this majority, we have a responsibility to guarantee a fair process and high-standard elections.

The bad thing is that in some way the time that the CEC has will be shortened. Another instrument will be found to pay for the postage, it must be found, because we will not burden our compatriots because we do not want the DP, and they will pay for the postage. Because it is a shame. Because they say that those from Albania should not pay for the ballot, while those from the Diaspora must pay for it. No, we will remove it, "said Balla.

Finally, Balla added that if 84 green cards for the amendment to the Electoral Code are not raised in the parliamentary session on February 13, then the shame will rest with the opposition.

"It's not that the matter is without a solution, the shame will remain with those who will ultimately come out naked, meaning they never wanted it and blocked it at the last moment. That this is the last thing and then there are no more problems. My call to all my fellow MPs, left, right, center, is that here we must go beyond political orders. It is a historic moment", Balla said. /CNA