Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that the electoral reform will be completed before the end of the year, with or without the cooperation of the opposition parties.

He told journalists after the meeting of the Socialist Party Presidency that:

“We will do the reform with all of those that want to participate in the process and we will approve it. At the committee on electoral reform there is an empty chair for our non-parliamentary opposition friends. It is their right to sit or not to sit in that chair but we will not wait, and we will adopt electoral reform within this year, as recommended by the OSCE/ODIHR.”

The opposition has made its position clear that it does not recognize the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform, as long as there are individuals on it who should have been convicted of electoral crimes.

“The united opposition supports a real electoral reform. No committee that includes and is directed by individuals who should have been in prison for electoral crimes enjoys the legitimacy of carrying out the electoral reform.”

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform is Damian Gjiknuri, who appears on the Albanian Electiongate leaked prosecution wiretaps appearing to be involved in collusion to rig elections.

The opposition has also published a list of conditions the government must meet before they will join electoral reform talks. These include the negotiation process being led by international representatives from the EU or US, and not involving persons subject to allegations and investigations of electoral fraud.