Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TIRANA511
2009-07-28 08:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

INTERNAL SP RUMBLINGS ON EVE OF GATHERING

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PREL AL 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHTI #0511/01 2090841
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 280841Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8353
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE IMMEDIATE 2521
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 3580
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000511 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL AL
SUBJECT: INTERNAL SP RUMBLINGS ON EVE OF GATHERING

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN L. WITHERS II FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d
).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000511

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL AL
SUBJECT: INTERNAL SP RUMBLINGS ON EVE OF GATHERING

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN L. WITHERS II FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d
).


1. (C) Summary: On July 28, in anticipation of the Central
Election Commission (CEC) announcing the results of the last
three regions, Tirana, Fier, and Shokdra on July 27, the SP
will convene to determine its next steps. Mayor of Tirana
and SP Party Chairman Edi Rama told Ambassador that the SP
will enter Parliament, but will continue to voice its deep
concerns about the election process. Other sources have said
that in tomorrow,s assembly, Rama will state that the
elections were irregular, manipulated, and the SP does not
recognize their results. Regardless, the SP will enter
Parliament (i.e. no boycott) but will press for early
elections, according to Rama. One SP strategist said Rama
made all the wrong moves in the elections, but agreed that
his grip on the party remains strong, despite the public
grumbling from some members. According to another, the two
major reasons for the SP loss were the failure of the SP and
LSI to enter a coalition together and weak candidates, many
of whom appeared to have only one qualification for office:
loyalty to Rama. End summary.


2. (C) On July 28, the SP will convene in anticipation of the
the Central Election Commission's (CEC) certifying of the
three final districts, Tirana, Fier, and Shkoder on July 27.
The other nine regions have had their results certified
previously. This assembly, according to SP MP and strategist
Ben Blushi, will help determine the SP,s next steps in the
electoral process. Blushi and most other observers Post has
spoken with, including Electoral College judges, agree that
the elections will be over on by August 1 in accordance with
the Electoral Code statute that gives parties five days after
all the districts are certified to appeal the distribution of
the mandates by the CEC. (Note: Albania has a regional
proportional system so votes are allocated accordingly. End
note.) The assembly will open with a speech by Rama in which
he will outline his plans and then a discussion will ensue
and finally the SP will vote on how to move forward. Usually
in these sessions, according to Blushi, the media is present
for the opening speeches and then asked to leave once they

are completed, however Blushi said he will urge for full
media coverage throughout the meeting. (Note: The assembly
is composed of the SP MPs and representatives from the
regions. End note.)


3. (C) Blushi told Poloff on July 25 that the main item of
discussion for the SP assembly is whether or not to not
recognize the election results and/or boycott the new
parliament. In a meeting with Ambassador on July 27, Rama
said that the SP will enter Parliament, but will continue to
make its complaints about the process known. Post has also
learned that the main points of Rama,s speech will be that:
the elections were irregular and manipulated, the SP does not
recognize their results but the SP will be present in
Parliament (i.e. no boycott) in order to investigate the
"crimes" of June 28, and finally the SP will demand early
elections in order to restore "legitimacy" to the Parliament.
The Assembly will probably vote for whatever outcome Rama
desires since, according to Blushi and others, Rama has
installed a large majority of loyalists in the SP.

WE LOST THE ELECTION
--------------


4. (C) Speaking more generally, Blushi said that the
elections are over and the SP should accept its loss and move
on. He did not think that the appeals for Fier, Berat, and
other regions would have had much of an impact; the SP simply
lost the election. He cited two major reasons for the SP
failure: candidates and coalitions. Many of the candidates,
the vast majority of whom were selected personally by Rama
with little or no consultation, were not suitable for office
and their only qualification was a loyalty to Rama, according
to Blushi. He lamented several of the so-called "thug" or
"bodyguard" candidates such as Tom Doshi from Shkoder and
other questionable candidates in Lezhe and other areas. He
said that the SP cannot tolerate such individuals in its
party and by doing so it has taken the party back twenty
years. He said Doshi told Rama that Rama cannot resign as
Chairman since Doshi had invested EUR 500,000 on the election
in Shkoder and he wants this money back. Blushi said the
money spent was to no avail.


5. (C) While the candidates are important, the main failure
was in the SP's coalition, according to Blushi. He said
Rama,s unwillingness to negotiate with LSI's Ilir Meta
virtually assured a defeat for the SP and the left. (Comment:
Meta also did not indicate that he was willing to negotiate

TIRANA 00000511 002 OF 002


with the SP. End comment.) As many observers have noted, a
combined SP-LSI coalition would have won handily. Blushi
added that the lack of a coherent platform did not help
matters either; senior SP strategist Kastriot Islami agreed
with this in a separate meeting and added that Rama made all
the wrong moves in this election.
WHO WILL BE THE NEXT CHAIRMAN OF THE SP?
--------------


6. (C) Finally, Blushi said that the SP will likely convene
again in August or September in order to resolve the
Chairmanship issue. According to SP rules, if the Chairman
loses an election, he must resign. However, Blushi and
others suspect that Rama may be planning to declare the
elections stolen so that he will not be forced to resign his
seat as Chairman, since he did not lose, but rather was
"robbed." Adding some credence to this scenario is the fact
that most of the assembly members were largely handpicked by
him and will support whatever Rama decides. Blushi demurred
when asked about potential challengers to Rama, however media
have reported that Blushi himself, former Finance Minister
Arben Malaj and others may challenge Rama. Blushi, Malaj and
others have made very public statements against Rama and the
SP electoral strategy. Despite these names, Islami said there
are no real viable candidates right now in the SP to
challenge Rama and offered that former PM Fatos Nano, who is
vacationing in Greece, is waiting for the party to
self-destruct. For his part, Rama told Ambassador that he is
in no danger of being unseated as SP chairman.


7. (C) Comment: We are relieved that the option of a
Parliamentary boycott appears to be off the table. Such a
move would have likely had very negative ramifications for
the SP and Albania. As the rumblings within the SP grow
increasingly louder, it will be interesting to see how the SP
Chairmanship issue is resolved. Rama seems confident about
retaining this role and no serious challengers seem to have
come forward to campaign against him, despite the fact that
more than a few SP members are pointing the finger at Rama
for the SP loss. His tight grip on the party may allow him
to hang onto power. August will continue to heat up as the
SP moves forward.
WITHERS