Parliamentary election in Albania 1991

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On March 31, 1991 were elections for the Constituent Assembly held in Albania. By-elections took place on April 7 and 14, 1991. These were the first pluralistic elections since the beginning of World War II and after the end of the communist one-party system. The members of the Kuvendi Popullor were elected for the last time .

The winner of the election was the ruling Labor Party , which won 169 of the 250 seats. The turnout was given as 96.8%.

background

The end of the communist systems and the fall of the wall in 1989 also put the communist leadership in Albania under increasing pressure. In the summer of 1990, thousands of Albanians fled to western embassies. A constitutional commission was therefore convened in November of that year.

Sali Berisha (here a photo from 2009), a co-founder of the Democratic Party, was the leader of the opposition in the election campaign

After protests and strikes by students at the University of Tirana and in view of the difficult economic problems, the communist regime in Albania allowed the formation of political parties alongside the Labor Party on December 11, 1990 . The students had mainly complained about the poor conditions in the dormitories, but also called for political reforms. In November and December 1990, therefore, new electoral laws were passed. On December 12, 1991, a group of students and intellectuals - including Azem Hajdari , Sali Berisha , Gramoz Pashko , Neritan Ceka , Arben Imami and Aleksandër Meksi - founded the Democratic Party , the country's first independent party.

The regular new parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for February 10, were postponed because the opposition parties, which had just been newly founded, had complained about a lack of preparation time.

The period before the election had been marked by violent protests in some cities since December. On February 20, 1991, protesters overturned the statue of Enver Hoxha that  had stood in Skanderbeg Square in Tirana. On February 22nd, a new government under Fatos Nano was formed, signaling readiness for reform within the Labor Party . At the beginning of March, thousands fled on ships across the Adriatic to Italy, while people had been fleeing through the mountains to Greece for months.

Election campaign

The elections took place in a tense mood characterized by economic upheaval and social instability. The dominant topics were, among other things, the ailing economy, food shortages and lack of housing.

Rural region in Albania in 1991

The ruling Labor Party had a clear advantage in the election campaign. It controlled most of the media, or at least was able to influence them, and had far greater resources at its disposal than the opposition that was developing. The urban Democratic Party, like other anti-communist parties, also had limited opportunities to reach the people in the countryside. The rural population also feared that the land would be privatized and transferred to pre-war owners; a scenario that was given high priority by the ruling party when addressing the voters in the countryside. The Labor Party and its affiliated mass organizations such as the Democratic Front promised during the election campaign to keep the country from sliding into chaos, to bring about growth within a regulated market economy, to promote political pluralism and to advance European integration. The Democratic Party promised better living conditions through membership in the European Community , close alliances with the USA  and other Western countries, guest workers in factories in Italy and Germany, and quick steps to introduce a free market economy .

The Democratic Party received material support from other conservative parties in Europe. The US also clearly supported the new party, which the ruling Labor Party criticized for its benefit. After a trip to the USA in mid-March, Gramoz Pashko was quoted as saying that his party would receive a blank check from the American government if it came to power. This would then lead to membership in organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank  , as well as food and other aid.

"David Swartz, head of the US delegation to reopen the American embassy in Tirana, said that the US would provide Albania with much-needed emergency aid, but that economic aid would only be paid if the democratic forces came to power."

The National Endowment for Democracy Foundation gave the dissident labor movement around US $ 103,000 to support the Democratic Party with activities such as alleged training and political education programs.

Over 1,000 candidates from eleven parties and political movements, including a large number of independent candidates, fought for the 250 seats in parliament. The Democratic Party was the only opposition representative to run a candidate in all 250 constituencies.

Results

Although the Labor Party won the elections, the Democratic Party triumphed in the urban areas. Gjirokastra was one of the few big cities where the Labor Party could win. Various prominent communist politicians were not re-elected in their urban constituencies.

19 seats had to be determined in by-elections.

Political party be right % Seats
Party of labor 000000001046120.00000000001,046,120 56.2 169
Democratic Party 000000000720948.0000000000720.948 38.7 75
Democratic Union of the Greek Minority 000000000013538.000000000013,538 0.7 5
National Veterans Committee 000000000005241.00000000005,241 0.3 1
other parties 000000000075185.000000000075.185 4.0 -
Invalid / empty votes 000000000088484.000000000088,484 - -
Total 000000001949516.00000000001,949,516 100 250
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

evaluation

Since the start of the election campaign, Democratic Party leaders have complained to international observers that the elections will be neither free nor fair. After the ballot, they charged that the elections took place in a “climate of fear”. International observers, on the other hand, judged the elections to be generally fair, and fraud and manipulation were minimal, despite the fact that the Labor Party enjoyed substantial advantages.

Effects

After the results became known, riots broke out in several cities. Four protesters were shot dead by police in Shkodra .

The new parliament met for the first time on April 10, but without the members of the Democratic Party , which stayed away from parliament for the time being in protest at the inadequate investigation of the events in Shkodra. On April 29, the parliament, including members of the Democratic Party, passed a constitutional law, a provisional regulation of the state organization that replaced the old constitution of 1976. A first, more comprehensive draft constitution had been rejected by the opposition. The constitutional law established what is now the Republic of Albania , to which the newly introduced office of President belongs. The following day Ramiz Alia was  elected president, who stepped down as first secretary of the Labor Party . On June 12, 1991, the Labor Party was transformed into the Socialist Party .

On June 4, 1991, the communist government of Fatos Nano had to resign after a general strike. A government of national unity was formed under Ylli Bufi , who handed over to Vilson Ahmeti six months later . On March 22, 1992 there were early elections.

Since the 1991 elections, Albania's politics have been dominated by two major parties, the Democrats and the Socialists, respectively their predecessors.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Albania; Parliamentary Chamber: Kuvendi Popullor; Elections held in 1991. Inter-Parliamentary Union, 1991, accessed March 9, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Dieter Nohlen , Philip Stöver: Elections in Europe: A data handbook . Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7 , p. 137.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Michael Schmidt-Neke : domestic policy . In: Klaus-Detlev Grothusen (Hrsg.): Albanien (=  Südosteuropa-Handbuch . Volume VII ). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993, ISBN 3-525-36207-2 , pp. 57-85 .
  4. ↑ Elez Biberaj: Albania in Transition: The Rocky Road to Democracy . Westview Press, Boulder 1998, pp. 63-65.
  5. ↑ a b c d e Michael Schmidt-Neke : Political System . In: Klaus-Detlev Grothusen (Hrsg.): Albanien (=  Südosteuropa-Handbuch ). tape VII . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993, ISBN 3-525-36207-2 , pp. 169-242 .
  6. ↑ Vickers & Pettifer, pp. 51-54.
  7. ↑ Biberaj, pp. 95-97.
  8. ↑ Miranda Vickers & James Pettifer. Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity . New York University Press, New York 2000, p. 53.
  9. ↑ Biberaj, 95-96. Vickers & Pettifer, p. 52.
  10. ↑ Vickers & Pettifer, pp. 55 f .; Biberaj, p. 98 f.
  11. ↑ Vickers & Pettifer, p. 56.
  12. ↑ Biberaj, p. 97 f.
  13. ↑ William Blum. Killing Hope . Zed Books, London 2003, p. 320.
  14. ↑ Tomas Kacza: Between Feudalism and Stalinism. Albania's history in the 19th and 20th centuries . Trafo, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89626-611-8 , p. 292 f .
  15. ↑ Biberaj, p. 95.
  16. ^ Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries: The Balkans: A Post-Communist History . Routledge, New York 2007, p. 39; Vickers & Pettifer, p. 59.
  17. ↑ Tomas Kacza: Between Feudalism and Stalinism. Albania's history in the 19th and 20th centuries . Trafo, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89626-611-8 , p. 294 .
  18. ↑ Christine Höcker-Weyand: Government system . In: Klaus-Detlev Grothusen (Hrsg.): Albanien (=  Südosteuropa-Handbuch ). tape VII . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993, ISBN 3-525-36207-2 , pp. 157-168 .