Nearly a thousand supporters of the former ruling Democratic Party gathered on Monday despite rainy weather to shout slogans against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, told supporters that reported incidents of vote-buying in the elections in Korca revealed the truth about Rama’s centre-left government.
“We are here to raise the voice of protest against vote-buying,” Basha said. “We are against the illegality and the lack of transparency that characterize the government of Edi Rama and Ilir Meta,” he added, referring to Rama's junior coalition partner.
Meta is the speaker of parliament and head of the Socialist Movement for Integration.
The Socialists, who emerged victorious in the June 23 parliamentary elections, won a convincing victory in elections for the mayor of Korca on November 4, when their candidate, Sotiraq Filo, secured nearly 75 per cent of the vote.
The polls in Korca were held after the former mayor, Niko Peleshi, resigned following his appointment as deputy premier in Rama’s government.
However, the Socialist victory in the southern town was tarnished by a media report, which appeared to show students being paid by members of the Socialist Party Youth Forum.
In a video published by the investigative show, Fiks Fare, on Top-Channel TV, members of the youth forum are shown paying students 2,000 lek.
The Democrats maintain that the video is evidence of the massive vote-buying that they claim took place in the local election in Korca. The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation.
The Socialist Party claims the video has been misinterpreted, and that they were only reimbursing travel expenses for their Youth Forum members.
