Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) [2], 97-06-30

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From: The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] MARKET OF TIRANA "HALF EMPTY"

[02] WE HAVE THREE SECURE CANDIDATES - HRUP

[03] SOME 60 % OF VOTES FOR SP AND ITS CANDIDATE - PEQIN

[04] PRELIMINARY VOTING RESULTS IN CONSTITUENCIES - SHKODER

[05] ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

[06] HRUP CANDIDATE THREATENED IN PERMET

[07] INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVA IN CONTEXT OF FRY

[08] LEFT COALITION WINS IN ELBASAN

[09] PROTEST OF ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

[01] MARKET OF TIRANA "HALF EMPTY"

One of the traders, present in the market today, Mitat Hoxha, inhabitant of the commune of Paskuqan-Babru in the district of Tirana, told ATA that the hindrances for the market are the high prices. He buys tomatoes from those who plant them at the price of 100 lek per kilo and sells them 120 lek/kg to profit something, and he has to pay even 4000 ....... leks for the taxes of the place where he sells.

In the market of meat, chickens and sausages were only 6 traders out of 86 altogether. The traders who sell sausages are absent. The market of fruits and vegetables in the "Avni Rustemi" square was full some 80 per cent. /kled/mt/Z

[02] WE HAVE THREE SECURE CANDIDATES - HRUP

In Korce Kristo Goxhi has won, in Kolonje Leon Solis and in Sarande Zico Lluci who was faced with the independent candidate, Thoma Mico.

Mico, according to the HRUP spokesman, has self-declared his victory, disinforming the opinion through several local Greek radios.

"This act of Thoma Mico comes after the loss of his prestige in OMONIA, in party and foreign policy," says the HRUP spokesman, Zana Bihiku.

This party confesses that according to its reports, the candidate, Arta Jica won the third place with 2100 votes. /jz/mt/

[03] SOME 60 % OF VOTES FOR SP AND ITS CANDIDATE - PEQIN

Last year, in this region, which is included in the electoral constituency 62, the DP candidates had a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, as well as in local ones.

In the second place is the candidate of the Albanian United Right, the jurist Admir Canidhi, and in the third place the current deputy of DP, Ali Gripshi.

The same electorate, between the parliamentary monarchy and the Republic, has preferred the first. According to the commission of the constituency, the turnout in favour of monarchy varies from 52-55 per cent. /s.sh/jz/mt/Z

[04] PRELIMINARY VOTING RESULTS IN CONSTITUENCIES - SHKODER

The constituency 11 in the district of Puke will have a second round between SP and DP. /JZ/MT/Z/

[05] ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

TIRANA, JUNE 30 (ATA): This report is strictly preliminary, based on the available information at this juncture. Observers are still making their assessments in the field and we will have much more detailed information in the next few days. The reports from the international observers are still being processed. We expect to provide a consolidated report on the first round of these elections on Wednesday 2 July. The final report, which the political parties are committees to respecting as foreseen in the Political Contract of 9 May 1997, will only be issued after the second round of these elections is completed.

Pre-election Period

These problems were mainly of a procedural nature, relating to the inability to strictly observe the timetable set forth in the Electoral law. As a result, the necessary flow of information tot he electorate was uneven throughout the country. In some cases, voters were not sufficiently informed to be able to select objectively among the candidates.

This, coupled with serious hindrances in campaigning, brought about by the security situation, made normal preparations for election day extremely difficult.

However, the Albanian authorities responsible for the administration of the election, particularly the Central Election Commission, displayed a high degree of commitment and responsibility in seeking to overcome the very real problems facing them.

Election Day

In addition, the more than 500 international observers, of which over 100 were parliamentarians, monitored and observed a broad cross-section of the voting process in all areas of the country.

We believe, therefore, that we can say that the elections can be considered as adequate and acceptable at this stage because:

• of the large participation of voters,
• voters were generally able to cast their ballot without fear or intimidation, although there are reports of some serious problems with the counting process in a few zones,
• the conduct of the electoral commissions appears to have been, in most cases, correct and nonpartisan, although we know that some areas experienced problems. The most abhorrent of these was a murder in the Fier area, that may have been linked to the election process,
• domestic and international observers were, for the most part, granted access to all stages of the voting and counting without interference of intimidation.

We should like to commend the OSCE, and in particular the efforts of Dr. Franz Vranitzky, the Multinational Protections Force, as well as the Council of Europe and the European Union for the tremendous contribution that have made to the international effort to help build democracy in Albania. /mt/Z/

[06] HRUP CANDIDATE THREATENED IN PERMET

They have threatened the HRUP candidate to withdraw his candidature because "where SP is, no one else comes."

Such concerns have been voiced in Sarande in the constituency 115, where Theodhori Bezhani was taken hostage, father of the HRUP candidate Kostandina Bezhani.

According to the spokesman, the U.S. Embassy has personally intervened to set Bezhani free, because he is U.S. citizen.

SP has declared that in the constituency 115 Gramoz Ruci has won, but no commission chairman from DP and HRUP members were present, because of being afraid. /jz/mt/Z/

[07] INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVA IN CONTEXT OF FRY

The Macedonian President Gligorov also spoke of the position of the Albanians in Macedonia and the Kosova question.

"It seems to me that the government of Belgrade has made a great mistake that it does not talk with the leaders of the Kosova Albanians to find any acceptable solution which would foresee the independence of Kosova in the context of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," stressed Gligorov. /b.j/ag/pas/z/mt/

[08] LEFT COALITION WINS IN ELBASAN

During morning it is also reported about the second round between Ceka and Democratic Alliance Party and Myftiu of Social Democratic Party, which will choose the winner in the electoral constituency 64 in the second round.

While in the constituency 66, where are included the far and rural regions, the current information (because the information has not arrived from half of the polling stations in this zone), speaks in favour of the left candidate, the pedagogue Agron Tato.

Referring to the data of all the commission constituencies in this district, SP is in the first place with 60 per cent of the votes, the second is DP with more than 20 per cent and then DAP with 10 per cent of the votes.

The figure for the monarchy and Leka Zogu is in the limits of 40 per cent. /s.sh/jz/mt/Z

[09] PROTEST OF ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

* * *

The members of the commission of the Socialist Party in the electoral constituency 75 in Lushnje are preventing the signing of the process-verbals in this constituency, because in this constituency the candidate of DP, Sami Sharka, has won, says another protest of the Albanian Democratic Party.

The same situation happened even in the constituency 79 in Fier, where the DP candidate, Belul Celo, has won.

The Democratic Party asks the Central Election Commission to make correct verifications for the process-verbals of some communes of the constituency 14 in Has, because the armed gangs have directly intervened in manipulating the ballot papers and process-verbals. /s.sh/jz/mt/Z

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