Albanian president convenes talks on vote-rigging claims

TIRANA-Albania’s president on Saturday held round-table talks with the government and the main opposition party to end a seven-month political crisis over alleged electoral fraud.

Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the governing Democratic Party and Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, also Tirana mayor, met at President Bamir Topi’s office.

The Socialists have boycotted Parliament for months — blocking most legislative work — and staged large protests.

They claim the Democrats manipulated vote-counting in the June 28 national elections and are demanding a recount — which the government has ruled out.

The two main parties agreed to continue negotiations and asked the president to look further for ways to solve the crisis.

“We agreed that the president will continue to explore for convergence points,” said Topi after the talks. He thanked the European Union, the UNITED STATES and other international institutions for assisting in the launch of the talks.

Berisha and Rama only repeated their positions and expressed their wish for the president to look for ways out of the political stalemate.

The Democrats control 75 of parliament’s 140 seats; the Socialists have 65.

Source:thestar.com/