Speech by Prime Minister Edi Rama to the Assembly:

Hello everyone and with your permission I will try to focus on two issues, one concerning political situation and the other, a civic issue. I am talking about the Electoral Reform and the case of alleged abuse of a teenage girl, which has deeply hurt the feelings of the people of this country and the feelings of each of us.

I would start with the Electoral Reform, not because of its importance, but because I believe that when considering these two issues, the emphasis should be put on the latter, as it goes beyond the daily and usual debate and raises some serious concerns.

Without wanting to go over details and make a long story, I would like to remind everyone of the fact that since the 2017 parliamentary elections, we have been publicly committed to addressing and implementing the electronic voting or counting in the 2019 elections. Again, if you remember, since then, I have constantly stated that if we wish or, more precisely, if they are seriously seeking and wanting to include electronic voting and counting in the election, the colleagues, who were inside this very hall back then and now are outside this hall, should start work immediately, because it is about not a very easy process which takes a certain time to become operational. On this occasion, I want to recall that in no case, in no country, but also anytime when asked by us – and by us I mean all political parties in our country – ODIHR has never been and is not enthusiastic about inclusion of technology in an election, as it sees technology with a high dose of scepticism and it doesn’t promote it as a transforming innovation in view of electoral integrity and transparency for thousands of known reasons and for the potential threats stemming from the use of technology in an election. This has led countries like Germany to consider the demand for the use of technology in election as unconstitutional and strictly ordering that if the technology is to be used in the election, it should be introduced in a phased and gradual way, and not all at once. Our goal back then was to deny the opposition an alibi and provide everyone, ourselves and people the opportunity to have access to technology. That’s why we have conducted a survey, about which I have spoken publicly, and that’s why we have launched an entire process, including a concrete technology testing, by creating ballot stations inside the Socialist Party headquarters to assess reaction of citizens of various ages and social groups toward the technology and eventually create a clear idea about “how” and “how much” the technology can be used.

This whole process has lead us to the conclusion that introduction of the technology into an offline system –  not an online one in order to prevent potential hacking that could influence or even destroy whole electoral process – is totally possible and it can considerably ease the process in terms of our needs.

We made our entire effort – needless to reiterate it here as you all know this whole story – so that we could launch a pilot project in two or three different electoral zones starting in the 2019 local elections, so that we could concretely see its outcome and based on that outcome we could draw conclusions and further extend the use of the system, should these conclusions were to be positive ones. It didn’t happen and there was no way for it to happen, because the opposition’s agenda was and remains a different one and time ran out.

Time ran out and except the fact that we have wasted much time and again, as traditionally, we are on the final meters before a very important decision that should be made about Albania in Brussels. But every cloud has a silver line and this situation actually shows by deeds not words  that although we could have finalized this process unilaterally, although we could gather the required votes in this parliament without waiting for any consensus or authorization from those who abandoned parliament, we didn’t do that and more than once we postponed all the deadlines we had imposed on ourselves just to do things right, considering the use and exhausting of all possible means and time as crucial towards reaching an agreement on the game rules. Because once the game rules are set, it is fair for all involved sides to have their voice and the right to demand correction or an accord in compliance with the game rules, even though Albania and any other country, and Kosovo for completely different reasons, represent unique cases. Neither in Italy, nor in Greece or France and in no other country is the electoral reform finalized on consensus. It is pretty simple. The party enjoying the majority of votes in the parliament implements the reform it deems reasonable. Not long ago, the governing majority in Greece altered its electoral system, actually a consolidated system for many years, despite the aggressive opposition of the minority, moving from a proportional electoral system with a majority bonus to a totally proportional representation without a majority bonus system.

It is of course their right and the obligation of all parties to respect parliament is something else, despite the system change in that way apparently deprives the majority of the opportunity the long-time consolidated system granted it to govern the country without being threatened by small parties and every sort of political forces that thanks to the totally proportional representation could manage to take a big party hostage and block government.

This very process involves two topics; the one presented on the table of the political parties by the European Union, which for the first time in history intervenes on an exclusively internal issue, like the one about choosing an electoral system and electoral code that in every other country is chosen according to the will of their parliament. But this all happened thanks to all the mud and chaos that were persistently stimulated by the party that is absent here today by making use of its connections in the German Bundestag to impose such an agenda. However, this is not a problem, but it is important to bring to the attention of you all an element in the German Bundestag draft, before it became a document to be included in the European Commission’s document and to be the approved by the European Council. The original version of the document included the option of the consensus, but this word was removed precisely not to allow any of the parties to take the process hostage and block any possible solution and a very clear framework was set forth instead, so that none of the parties can force the other to move out of the framework of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. The Bundestag recommendation reads as following: an electoral reform based on the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and approved in Parliament.

Why the word “in parliament” was added” given that they had walked out of parliament?

This was all to convey the clear message that the ODIHR recommendations are the basis and a judgement can be easily made by all those monitoring us on this basis, because judgement is a technical one by experts. This one will be voted in parliament, no matter what, if someone tries to block it while being outside the parliament. This is the meaning of all of this.

However, we preferred to be patient even though the work done by our representatives in the group of experts, led by Damian (Gjiknuri), with the representatives and the experts of the opposition was complete regarding the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. We didn’t come to parliament at the end of last year – as I had already hinted – to vote the new electoral reform, because we deemed it more important to wait and hope that a consensus would be found with the other party. This is something I never hoped about, because, unfortunately, I know, as everyone does and just like the overwhelming majority of the Albanians do. However, we still preferred to wait. The work resumed and, for a simple reason, May 31 was set as the new deadline so that Parliament has enough time to implement its procedure and put it forward for vote in parliament.

This deadline yielded no results. I am personally sorry and I believe that so many people are sorry and deplore that now in 2020 the Albanian politics still need foreign ambassadors to mediate, go in and out of doors to play the role of the Albanian to Albanian translator and facilitate the communication process. This is a single thing enough to show the immature adolescent stage of the Albanian politics in general and immaturity of the political leaders, who lack courage on things of common interest. But, let’s leave aside issues of common interest for the country, which is the most normal thing, and instead focus on issues of common party interest regarding the game rules. I didn’t ask and I never ask for the ambassadors, but, given that for the others was impossible to sit with an Albanian to exchange their opinions, they were ready to sit in a table with three pairs of translators and we accepted it. Of course we accepted it and I am grateful to the ambassadors for getting out of their role, their mission and duty to assume the role of the referee and see the ping-pong of the Albanian politics being played with two rackets, with a shape that once remind you of the real rackets and once the boxing gloves. This is the truth.

However, it is worth noting that at least the discussions are taking place in the presence of witnesses and, at least, when others receive those endless emails, endless messages and endless rivers of lies and half-truths that are and the biggest lies and distortions from the opposition headquarters.

Apart from all these, the truth is very simple. The framework according to the recommendations has been finalized and you all know, everybody else knows, and every Albanian, who are fond of the politics just like the Brits and Spanish are fond of football, they all know that the main problem and the often main reason of the absurd disputes are the electoral commissions: those who identify voters and count the votes. Since I read the very first ODIHR report and till the most recent one on elections in Albania, the document contains a permanent word cluster: “depoliticization of the commission.” This is the permanent phrase that I remember that many years ago, one of the most renowned election experts, Vulcanov asked me during a meeting that how come Albania is the only country where the electoral commissions that identify voters, register the participants and count the ballots could not be formed by individuals who are not nominated by the political parties, since even Hamas and Fatah, two warring parties in the Palestinian politics, have employed teachers in the electoral commissions?! How come Albanian people and Albania are unable to name individuals representing any party and backing any political party, but who join the electoral commission as free citizens to serve the electoral process only!

But unfortunately, this seems a mission impossible to date. Meanwhile, we have stated that depoliticization of the electoral commissions is a must; because I don’t think that the new electoral code will be adopted just for a transition period. I think the new law should last for a long time, despite the fact that tomorrow they can come back and say “let’s see this, let’s see that.” And always, whoever loses the elections claim the law is to blame, the opponent definitely, but also the law, so let’s review and change the law.

Given the conclusions of the survey and the experiment we already conducted, we know that there are no many companies in the world capable of conducting the electronic identification. It is a very small number of such companies, because there is no strong demand to introduce technology in the elections and we have been told that implementation of an electronic system would take at least six months. Today it is too late for this. The process in parliament will take some weeks. Let’s suppose that such a proposal is adopted by end of June, the Parliament should vote the whole structure and each name of the new Central Election Commission, which is proposed to be a completely different body and the process, in the best case scenario, will last during whole month of July. It would take them at least 40 days, which is a very short period to prepare whole study and the terms of reference and it may last until end of September before launching an international tender to pick the company that will take over this process. The international tender will last at least 60 days in October and November and the contract could be signed in January. The contract implementation to build the identification system may start in February, while the next elections, as we have already agreed, will be held during the period between April 15 and May 15. How is this supposed to be done?

Then we said, ok, we agree that a 100% identification system is applied in the next elections, if this is really possible, but if not, let’s use it to identify 5%, 20, 30, or even 70% of the voters and the rest to continue the traditional process and let the Democratic Party find its own expert, no matter whether he or she is a depoliticized or politicized individual, and name this individual as the vice chair of the Electoral Commission, specifically tasked with the technology, so that they do not claim that the technology and entire process didn’t work properly. We would also support this solution even if they want to employ an international IT expert to assist the DP’s deputy chair of CEC. We don’t want to interfere in this process. Let them solve the issue of the technology. If they succeed and the system is certified internationally, let then a company to implement this system in all voting centres.

In addition to this, they say the public administration is politicized. I will provide a single figure. As many as 9000 civil servants work in the central government, without taking into account local government and other institutions. 67% of them work in these institutions before 2013. These are the truths and facts, which apply to those who judge us and preach moral lessons for the politicization of the administration, the involvement of the administration and party militants. 67% of the public administration with the status of civil service in the Republic of Albania and which depends on the Prime Minister’s office, the ministries and the most central institutions are before 2013. That’s the way it is on TV, I’m the one who has taken over the administration, I am the one who keeps the Democrats at work. I feel good, but this is the truth.

Yet, we haven’t ascertained that the public administration members will be in charge of the electoral commissions. We have clearly said that any political party or individual running in the election can call on their supporters to voluntarily apply and register to join the electoral administration. We will need as many as 16, 500 election commissions members, with three public administration members part of these commissions at every polling station. Everyone will be allowed to register and join such commissions and let them be 30 thousands, 50 or even 100,000 commission members. Each of them will undergo training for a certain period of time and we have clearly stated that the deputy chairman of the election commission, who will be a representative from the opposition, will be tasked with the commissioners’ training, and then a lot is drawn to determine the polling station and the commission each will join in the end of the process. In order to safeguard the election standards – because volunteers are merely volunteers and they can refuse to join the commission in a certain area – the commission members will be selected by lot and they will be named to join a certain election commission without having any idea who other commission members are. The lot will be drawn just 48 hours before the election day and each person will be then told to appear at the polling station he or she has been chosen to go by lot. If any of them refuses to do so, he or she will be fired from the public administration and a lifetime ban on them to apply and take up a government job will be imposed. Without taking into account the fact that if any of them is caught involved in any illicit action or election crime, they will be sent to prison. Would you find a single public administration member who would go there and become a sort of “a kamikaze” and lose his job forever and risk ending up in prison?

In addition to that, we have also clearly said that three of these members will deal with the process and surveillance cameras will be installed in each polling station and they will be constantly monitored both by the majority and opposition representatives, who will oversee the entire process. They won’t be given the right to handle registers or ballot papers, yet they will take notes of everything they see and notice and they will then send their complaints to the Zonal Election Administration Commission or to the Central Election Commission. If it turns out that their complaints are right, then any responsible individual will be penalized. I don’t understand what they want!

Last, the issue concerning migrants’ right to vote. I saw migrants currently back home in Tirana saying that the migrants want to vote. I also saw the media headlines, speculating that the government deceived migrants about their right to vote, because words have almost lost their meaning in Albania and the word crime is now synonymous with the word air conditioning, water, light, the word corruption, theft, robbery, thief, fraudsters have been identified with the word lady, sir, – the Socialist Party is identified with immigrants. How did we deceive them?

We are not ridiculous. Just like it was the case with the use of the technology in the elections, when it comes about this, too, we know pretty well it is easier said than done and we have included our proposal, tasking the Central Election Commission with finding a solution to allow migrants vote in the elections, yet addressing the migrants’ right to vote implies building an entire system and it can’t be done at the very last minute.

This is the electoral reform outlook.

I don’t want to offer comments, poetic or sarcastic depictions about the situation. I would have made a lot of such comments, yet it’s not a really good time right now. I don’t know what you think, but I have my own opinion I am not going to express today and instead I will let those having the ball in their court now kick it and say where do they plan to send the ball, whether they will send it out of the stadium, cross the ball or grab it and say the ball is mine and we will kick the penalty. Let’s wait. If we were to refer to the children’s library in Kamez, the ball won’t be kicked, but will be put down the shirt. However, we don’t know how the process will proceed. What we do know is that we haven’t forgotten, although the others might, that another opposition is right here in the parliament that should vote the electoral reform. The process will go on with us sharing the draft agreement with the parliamentary opposition lawmakers and not let you wait to learn about it through the media, journalists, political commentators and moralists, who accuse us of being all the same. There was someone saying they are all the same and what we need is just a sack to put them all in and through them into a torrential river.

I provide my clarification.

I would like to touch upon the topic I mentioned earlier. It is really deplorable that in addition to what already happened, unfortunately not for the first time, some renewed this abuse, this time not physically, but a physiological abuse of an entire people. It is deplorable and unfortunate to see people who are given the opportunity to express their opinion and make comments, no matter whether they are lawmakers, civil society members, political commentators who use the victim of the abuse as a cannon fodder for their own interest. This is something that does not happen in any normal country around the world. It happens in Albania!

The most important and fundamental demand of a victim of the abuse is preserving anonymity and confidentiality, yet the victim is revealed in every TV station, in every news and media website. This is cannibalism committed by pseudo-intellectuals, pseudo-politicians, pseudo-citizens and pseudo-human beings. It is deplorable and completely unfortunate to see how a victim of violence, a teenager is being used, either consciously or unconsciously, with sincere or crocodile tears, although I am convinced that some of them really feel the pain and suffering, but a crime is just a crime, no matter whether committed consciously or unconsciously. I would tell everyone who has commented this topic that they have abused her again!

On the other hand, I don’t believe even for a single second, that those who abuse the Minister of Education publicly and keep talking about the women and girls’ rights they are not really concerned about the victim of the abuse. A victim of abuse cannot be defended by abusing someone else. It is impossible, it doesn’t work this way!

For years now, the Catholic Church has embarked on a terrible process of the fight against paedophilia. The Catholic Church in the world, cardinals, archbishops and clergymen are involved in extreme sexual harassment scandals and systematic use of the paedophilia. This has badly hurt credibility of the Church itself, but this has never been a reason to ruin the Church, religion, the ethics of communication and the human obligation to protect the victims. Never! But the victim here is being used and I am convinced that none of those speaking about her have never tried to address this problem without letting everyone know. Nobody!

But if there is a person who knows and has certainly sought to help the victim is that women up there (the Minister of Education), who is being shamelessly attacked by all kinds of man-faced jackals, monsters and foxes. Do they want the Minister of Education commit a crime? Are they pushing the Education Minister to deal with the case in question publicly or let the Education Minister take all the measures and procedures as stipulated by law?

There are a number of such abuse cases. The primary abusers of these victims are, unfortunately, their own parents, who are also their mentors, just like priests are for the people who confess all their sins and everything is maintained confidential between the priest, the sinner and God. That’s why it is extremely tough to discover such crimes and if the media and politicians keep revealing such cases publicly, then I fear than nobody would report them. Quite the contrary, this is as if telling all victims of the abuse “dare report and you would turn into a character of all speculations and the political battle that take place in this country for reasons having nothing to do with you.”

When these happen, it is not the moment to remember the victims, but it is the case to recall what we do every day, what is being done every day right here in this podium and on the TV channels, where all sorts of abuse and insults are being thrown at each other, although everyone of us has been told by our parents to never use them!

Condemning in strongest possible terms any abuser, wherever they are and whoever they be, even in the farthest and most remote areas of the country, I would say that whoever uses this podium to utter the ugliest of words and making insult behaviour sound normal in the culture of communication, resorting to the defamation, blackmailing and threats to turn them into a political or a media platform, he is worse than the rapist, because the latter is a monster who has failed to seize his opportunity to lead a decent life, a career, build financial and human opportunities to be like us and the rest of the society. The abuser is a being who doesn’t deserve being called a human being. While all those wearing suits and ties, expensive clothes and do the moral trial, while teaching the boys and girls of this country that the dirty word means opposition, that defamation means rebelling, blackmailing and threatening, boycotting the institutions, attacking the system and institutions is in the interest of Albania, they are all worse and more disgusting than the person who committed the abuse. This is what I think.

Rejecting violence and staging marches against the violence is elementary in this case, but if you really don’t want it to happen again, first don’t repeat what you see from teachers and professors of morality and courtesy in politics, in media etc. and second, reject them.

I haven’t seen any of them here to join a protest when many women MPs have been insulted and raped verbally in this very hall. Why? This is because the politicians are all the same and it is of no avail of doing so. Isn’t Besa Shahini (Education Minister) a woman, the daughter of a mother, the daughter of a father, the wife of a husband? Is she merely one of the same “monsters”? Such a message is then conveyed to the children, who, while in front of the screen, are forced, not because they are interested in politics, but they are forced to hear the screams, yelling, verbal insults and abuse words. Do you want to become a lawmaker? Do you want to move up and advance your career? Do you want to become a respected man or woman? Just do what these do and follow their lead. Behave like them upon entering the classroom and throw any insults and rude words without caring that there could be girls around.

It is not enough for us to feel sorry. We should be ashamed, if what happened to us really affects us and by “us” I mean not only us here, but all those who like us are given the opportunity to convey a message to the public when the cameras are rolling. That’s not enough if we’re really sorry. If we are not ashamed, primary of ourselves, of what happened, we simply and only participate in the public re-rape of a teenage girls and prepare for future abuse, narrowing, not expanding, the space of denunciations and constantly sending to the victims the message “do not speak.”

I personally think that the Ministry of Education has the duty to keep doing what it has done, identify and send before justice any person involved, maintain anonymity, refrain from making statements and issuing communiqués to report about catching this or that. To those who publish videos of this kind on the media, I would tell only this; May God help your children not experience such situations because it would be only then when you will understand what it means to humiliate someone’s child when she is just a victim.