MP LISTS ARE OUT: DP PURGES PARTY AND SP BREAKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000319 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL AL SUBJECT: MP LISTS ARE OUT: DP PURGES PARTY AND SP BREAKS WITH THE PAST Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN L. WITHERS FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On May 26, the Central Election Committee (CEC) approved candidate lists for the upcoming parliamentary elections for both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and opposition Socialist Party (SP),but not without the usual amount of last-minute drama. The CEC initially rejected the SP lists because several of the regional lists did not satisfy the electoral code requirement that thirty percent of candidates be women. After making the required changes, the SP lists were approved by the CEC. The candidate lists, which were submitted on May 20 and name everyone who is running for Parliament from each party, did not contain too many surprises. However, the SP seems to have purged its ranks of former PM Fatos Nano and his supporters, while adding several prominent civil society activists to its list. The ruling DP, however, appears to have used the candidate lists to purge a number of President Topi loyalists and other DP dissidents, while adding a good helping of up-and-coming Berisha loyalists. According to rough calculations and estimates, 20-25 women may win seats on June 28, increasing female representation in Parliament by 5 per cent, to about 15 per cent of MPs. The public release of the lists on May 20 marked the end of a long and extremely non-transparent process, where, at least for the SP and DP, it appears that PM Berisha and SP Leader Rama drafted the lists largely on their own - many times not even consulting those candidates either cut from or included on the lists. End summary. After a Glitch or Two, Lists Go Public -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On May 26, the Central Election Committee (CEC) approved the DP's parliamentary list, but initially returned the SP's for additional tinkering as it did not meet the legally mandated quota that 30 per cent of its candidates be female. The much anticipated "lists" were made public on May 20 after being submitted to the CEC. (Note: Under the new electoral code, parties rank order potential MPs, and then seats are allocated to winners based on the proportion of votes that each party wins in a region. For example, if the SP wins 75 per cent of the vote in Tirana, it will receive 24 of the 32 seats up for grabs in Tirana, and the first 24 names on its list end up as MPs. End note.) The lists were due by midnight on May 19, but the SP did not submit its list until 0800 on May 20. SP officials claim no one was home at the CEC when they tried to submit it late on May 19. Regardless of the timing, little issue has been made so far of the SP's tardiness. Lack of Transparency in Drafting of Lists -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Perhaps most notable about the lists was the near total lack of transparency in which they were compiled. Edi Rama and Sali Berisha clearly dominated the entire drafting process, keeping nearly their entire parties - including many candidates included on or culled from the lists - in the dark until the last possible moment. One senior SP official and long-time Rama loyalist told PolOff that even two days before the release of the lists, she had no idea where on the list she would appear. One current DP MP told OSCE that he learned only at the very last minute that he was being cut from the DP list, guaranteeing that he will lose his seat in Parliament. Lists Go Out with the Old. . . -------------- ¶4. (U) The DP list in many ways amounted to an old fashioned political purge, with up to half of current DP MPs either cut from the list or placed so far down that they are very unlikely to be re-elected. Nineteen current MPs have been culled, including former Minister of Culture Ylli Pango who was caught attempting to solicit sexual favors from a young woman in return for employment. Another eight current MPs have their names so low on the list that they will likely not win reelection as well, meaning 27 of 52 current DP MPs will almost certainly not make it into the next parliament. The list also culled the few remaining Topi supporters in parliament. In their place are a host of new names, nearly all of them Berisha allies who currently serve in the government or are businessmen. As for gender representation, the DP named 38 women to the lists, but it is expected that only ten of them will be elected. ¶5. (SBU) On the SP list, the most notable absence is former TIRANA 00000319 002 OF 002 PM Fatos Nano, ending Nano's continuous run in parliament since the fall of communism. In response, Nano criticized Rama publicly and harshly and predicted that the SP would not be able to win in June because of divisions on the left. Another notable no-show on the list is SP Leader Edi Rama himself. According to Albanian law, the PM does not need to be an MP, meaning in the event of an SP victory Rama can become PM even though he will not hold a seat in Parliament. Rama's decision not to run for Parliament prompted DP critics to label Rama a "coward," claiming that Rama is afraid to risk his political future by running parliament and will instead hedge his bets in that no matter what happens June 28 Rama will remain Mayor of Tirana. . . .And In With a Few New Names -------------- ¶6. (C) Looking deeper, eight other current SP MPs have been left off the list, and one other has been placed so low on the list that he will likely not be re-elected. Some of the new names include long time Embassy contact and head of the Albanian Helsinki Commission Vasilika Hysi. Hysi had told poloff earlier that Rama had called her in recently to encourage her to run for Parliament. Hysi was apprehensive, but said Rama persuaded her and added that Rama told her he is trying to build a "brain trust" of academics and civil society actors in order to help push his agenda. In terms of gender representation, the SP listed 33 female candidates - at least 12 are expected to win. ¶7. (U) As for Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI),two of its current five MPs were left off the List. LSI was the only major party that complied fully with the gender quota, bringing the possibility that three women could be elected. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: The candidate lists are "closed," meaning once they are approved by the CEC the parties can make no changes to them. This is designed to avoid the last minute changes that plagued lists in the past and is seen as an improvement over past practice. Unfortunately, the formation of the lists also reinforced a different destructive tendency within both the DP and SP - a lack of transparency and a drive by both Berisha and Rama to control every aspect of how the parties function. In general the lists provided few real surprises, although the SP exclusion of former PM Nano and some of his allies generated headlines, whereas the DP sees a larger turnover in new MPs. The DP list seems to have reinforced a recent trend within the DP, promoting Berisha loyalists while marginalizing or eliminating altogether supporters of President Topi. It also appears that 20-25 women will win seats, increasing the female contingent to about 15 per cent of Parliament, up from 10 per cent in the current Parliament. WITHERS