May 18 (SeeNews) - EU and US officials on Thursday welcomed an agreement on Albania's forthcoming general election reached between prime minister Edi Rama and the leader of opposition Democratic Party (PD), Lulzim Basha.
PD has until now refused to take part in the elections, claiming the coalition government is unable to organise a free and fair vote and a caretaker government should be appointed to do the job. PD and smaller opposition parties have been boycotting parliament sessions since February, thus blocking the justice reform which is one of the conditions Albania should meet to open EU membership talks. EU and US officials have visited the country several times in an effort to mediate a compromise between the government and the opposition.
Lulzim Basha said late on Wednesday, he has reached a compromise with prime minister Edi Rama on the forthcoming election, a video, published by local broadcaster TopChannel showed.
The deal may postpone the elections scheduled for June 18.
"More details on the agreement will be provided in the next 24 hours," Basha told reporters late on Wednesday after a meeting with Rama, as seen in the video. The agreement is based on the proposals of MEPs David McAllister and Knut Fleckenstein which they presented last month to both the prime minister and opposition leader.
"Very happy to see good news from Albania this morning after PM Rama and Lulzim Basha reached an agreement on elections," Eduard Kukan, member of European Parliament, said on Twitter.
"I am pleased that the mediation efforts of the EU and the USA aimed at ending the political crisis in Albania had finally success", David McAllister said on his Facebook profile. "The key message is that long lasting solutions could be reached, when the government and the opposition look for and find direct dialogue."
Knut Fleckenstein, a rapporteur on Albania, also expressed his content with the deal on Twitter, saying he is glad he was part of the negotiations.
The European Union Delegation to Albania also welcomed the agreement.
"Congratulations on agreement for free and fair elections in best interest of all citizens of Albania," according to a tweet of the delegation.