Greek Consular Service in Albania do not know the nationality certificates

GJIROKASTER-As of May 23 the Interior Ministry has applied the new certificates, which have also arrived at the offices of registrar of Gjirokastra. According to the Albanian media, the new sheets of this document have been received to date 23, and their distribution started on Monday this week.

Compared to the old format of the new certificate is issued by introducing the element of national citizenship only. According to the civil employees of the residents had no complaints about this detail, while kërshëria came from the area of ​​minority citizens, who have asked about the changes.
The daily "Gazeta Shqiptare" informed today that the new format has brought chaos at the Greek consulate, where they openly refused to accept a certificate which is not given "nationality."

Dozens of people who are presented with various documents, to update them sealed and are not allowed and actions are not done turning back these people. Immediate was the response of the organization OMONIA previous day and considered tendentious issue of new format of certificates. According to her, the removal of nationality is an open violation of minority rights. One of the returning residents today told "Gazeta Shqiptare" unjust action of the consulate.

Countryman: Changing of the borders is very dangerous

27.05.2011, ora 21:03

Thomas Countryman, the deputy Secretary of America for Eurasian said that the change of borders in the Balkans is unacceptable and even dangerous.
In an interview for the Serbian service of Voice of America, the senior U.S. official said that people in Kosovo and Serbia expect results from the talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

He rejected the idea expressed recently by Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic for the possibility of partitioning Kosovo. He said that the issue of separation or the status of Kosovo is not part of the ongoing talks in Brussels between Belgrade and Pristina.

Albania's opposition boycotts parliament pending court ruling on contested election

By The Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania — Albanian opposition parties say they are boycotting parliament until the top electoral court issues a final ruling on the contested results of the mayoral race for the capital, Tirana.

The electoral commission declared the governing party's candidate as the capital's new mayor, reversing preliminary results that showed the incumbent mayor and the leader of the opposition, Edi Rama, in the lead following the May 8 vote.

Rama has refused to recognize the result and has appealed the ruling to Albania's highest electoral court.

The results reversal followed the commission's decision to include in the final tally previously uncounted votes that had been cast in the wrong ballot boxes.

Judges started discussing the appeal on Thursday. It was unclear when a decision would be issued.

Ruling party candidate declared winner of close Albanian vote

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 26, 2011

Lulzim Basha is a former Interior Minister of Albania.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The election for mayor of Albania's capital was closely watched as indicator of stability
• Official results show a ruling-party candidate ousted a three-term opposition chief
• The opposition says it will challenge the results

RELATED TOPICS

• Tirana
• Albania

Tirana, Albania (CNN) -- Albanian authorities Monday declared a winner in a closely watched race for mayor of the Balkan nation's capital, finding a challenger from the ruling party ousted the veteran incumbent by a double-digit margin.

Results from Albania's Central Election Commission gave former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha an 81-vote edge over three-term Tirana Mayor Edi Rama out of nearly 250,000 ballots cast. Rama leads the opposition Socialist Party, while Basha was the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party.

Rama and his allies have raised claims of fraud, and the Socialists are expected to challenge the results through official channels and in the streets, said Fatmir Xhafa, a senior Socialist official.

"We are going into a dictatorship, and the protests against a dictatorship would be only the calmer part," Xhafa said.

Official challenges could drag out until July, said Leonard Olli, an election commission spokesman.

The vote was seen as an indicator of stability in Albania, long an isolated Stalinist enclave in southeastern Europe. The contest sparked protests in Tirana and other towns last week, when the electoral commission found Rama held a 10-vote lead.

Socialist supporters clashed with police outside the commission's headquarters and tried to force their way into the building, only to be pushed back by police.

Albania abandoned Communism in the 1990s, but its path to democracy has been bumpy. Past elections have been criticized as being neither free nor fair, and about 300 international monitors and observers were on hand for this year's vote -- a test of whether Albania was ready to join the European Union.

Rama has accused the ruling Democrats of corruption and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sal Berisha, whom the Socialists accuse of rigging the 2009 elections. Four people died in clashes with police outside Berisha's office in January, deaths that each side blamed on the other.

Ruling party candidate declared winner of close Albanian vote

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 26, 2011

Lulzim Basha is a former Interior Minister of Albania.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The election for mayor of Albania's capital was closely watched as indicator of stability
• Official results show a ruling-party candidate ousted a three-term opposition chief
• The opposition says it will challenge the results

RELATED TOPICS

• Tirana
• Albania

Tirana, Albania (CNN) -- Albanian authorities Monday declared a winner in a closely watched race for mayor of the Balkan nation's capital, finding a challenger from the ruling party ousted the veteran incumbent by a double-digit margin.

Results from Albania's Central Election Commission gave former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha an 81-vote edge over three-term Tirana Mayor Edi Rama out of nearly 250,000 ballots cast. Rama leads the opposition Socialist Party, while Basha was the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party.

Rama and his allies have raised claims of fraud, and the Socialists are expected to challenge the results through official channels and in the streets, said Fatmir Xhafa, a senior Socialist official.

"We are going into a dictatorship, and the protests against a dictatorship would be only the calmer part," Xhafa said.

Official challenges could drag out until July, said Leonard Olli, an election commission spokesman.

The vote was seen as an indicator of stability in Albania, long an isolated Stalinist enclave in southeastern Europe. The contest sparked protests in Tirana and other towns last week, when the electoral commission found Rama held a 10-vote lead.

Socialist supporters clashed with police outside the commission's headquarters and tried to force their way into the building, only to be pushed back by police.

Albania abandoned Communism in the 1990s, but its path to democracy has been bumpy. Past elections have been criticized as being neither free nor fair, and about 300 international monitors and observers were on hand for this year's vote -- a test of whether Albania was ready to join the European Union.

Rama has accused the ruling Democrats of corruption and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sal Berisha, whom the Socialists accuse of rigging the 2009 elections. Four people died in clashes with police outside Berisha's office in January, deaths that each side blamed on the other.

Ruling party candidate declared winner of close Albanian vote

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 26, 2011

Lulzim Basha is a former Interior Minister of Albania.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The election for mayor of Albania's capital was closely watched as indicator of stability
• Official results show a ruling-party candidate ousted a three-term opposition chief
• The opposition says it will challenge the results

RELATED TOPICS

• Tirana
• Albania

Tirana, Albania (CNN) -- Albanian authorities Monday declared a winner in a closely watched race for mayor of the Balkan nation's capital, finding a challenger from the ruling party ousted the veteran incumbent by a double-digit margin.

Results from Albania's Central Election Commission gave former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha an 81-vote edge over three-term Tirana Mayor Edi Rama out of nearly 250,000 ballots cast. Rama leads the opposition Socialist Party, while Basha was the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party.

Rama and his allies have raised claims of fraud, and the Socialists are expected to challenge the results through official channels and in the streets, said Fatmir Xhafa, a senior Socialist official.

"We are going into a dictatorship, and the protests against a dictatorship would be only the calmer part," Xhafa said.

Official challenges could drag out until July, said Leonard Olli, an election commission spokesman.

The vote was seen as an indicator of stability in Albania, long an isolated Stalinist enclave in southeastern Europe. The contest sparked protests in Tirana and other towns last week, when the electoral commission found Rama held a 10-vote lead.

Socialist supporters clashed with police outside the commission's headquarters and tried to force their way into the building, only to be pushed back by police.

Albania abandoned Communism in the 1990s, but its path to democracy has been bumpy. Past elections have been criticized as being neither free nor fair, and about 300 international monitors and observers were on hand for this year's vote -- a test of whether Albania was ready to join the European Union.

Rama has accused the ruling Democrats of corruption and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sal Berisha, whom the Socialists accuse of rigging the 2009 elections. Four people died in clashes with police outside Berisha's office in January, deaths that each side blamed on the other.

Ruling party candidate declared winner of close Albanian vote

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 26, 2011

Lulzim Basha is a former Interior Minister of Albania.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The election for mayor of Albania's capital was closely watched as indicator of stability
• Official results show a ruling-party candidate ousted a three-term opposition chief
• The opposition says it will challenge the results

RELATED TOPICS

• Tirana
• Albania

Tirana, Albania (CNN) -- Albanian authorities Monday declared a winner in a closely watched race for mayor of the Balkan nation's capital, finding a challenger from the ruling party ousted the veteran incumbent by a double-digit margin.

Results from Albania's Central Election Commission gave former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha an 81-vote edge over three-term Tirana Mayor Edi Rama out of nearly 250,000 ballots cast. Rama leads the opposition Socialist Party, while Basha was the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party.

Rama and his allies have raised claims of fraud, and the Socialists are expected to challenge the results through official channels and in the streets, said Fatmir Xhafa, a senior Socialist official.

"We are going into a dictatorship, and the protests against a dictatorship would be only the calmer part," Xhafa said.

Official challenges could drag out until July, said Leonard Olli, an election commission spokesman.

The vote was seen as an indicator of stability in Albania, long an isolated Stalinist enclave in southeastern Europe. The contest sparked protests in Tirana and other towns last week, when the electoral commission found Rama held a 10-vote lead.

Socialist supporters clashed with police outside the commission's headquarters and tried to force their way into the building, only to be pushed back by police.

Albania abandoned Communism in the 1990s, but its path to democracy has been bumpy. Past elections have been criticized as being neither free nor fair, and about 300 international monitors and observers were on hand for this year's vote -- a test of whether Albania was ready to join the European Union.

Rama has accused the ruling Democrats of corruption and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sal Berisha, whom the Socialists accuse of rigging the 2009 elections. Four people died in clashes with police outside Berisha's office in January, deaths that each side blamed on the other.

Protests, international concern over Albania’s election crisis

Protests by supporters of socialist leader Edi Rama in Tirana on May 21 2011 were among the latest episodes in the drama around the disputed mayoral election in the Albanian capital. Provisional results of the May 8 mayoral election produced a 10-vote victory for Rama, but the central election commission embarked on a recount that reportedly produced a victory for Lulezim Basha, the candidate backed by Albania’s governing Democratic Party.

Political tensions in Albania have been running high since the disputed 2009 elections. In the run-up to the May 8 2011 elections, there were violent incidents and media reports alleging electoral abuses including manipulation of voters’ rolls. In a joint statement on May 20, the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Slovenia expressed concern about developments after the election and said that the polarised situation and the lack of trust between the ruling party and the opposition showed the need to overcome differences in the name of dialogue and understanding.

A stable and democratic Albania was crucial to stability and development of the Western Balkans and upholding democratic standards was crucial to Albania’s EU prospects, the joint statement said. On May 20, the European Commission called on Albania's electoral commission to announce the results of May 8 local elections without delay. Albanian opposition demonstrators clashed with police outside the election commission building on May 19 where the recount was being conducted, the Voice of America reported. The protestors attempted to push past a police cordon outside the building. Protests also erupted in three other towns, including Kavaja, where roads were blocked and people burned tyres, CNN said.

The political tensions prompted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to cancel his visit to Albania scheduled for May 20. European Commission spokesperson Natasha Butler denied the cancellation indicated a disengagement from Albania, VOA said. Butler said that the European Commission was closely monitoring the situation. On May 19, US assistant secretary of state in the bureau for European and Eurasian affairs Philip Gordon called on Albanian politicians to "focus on constructive engagement actions befitting a future member of the European Union and not on negative rhetoric or actions, which serve only to denigrate the process".

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on May 19 for a peaceful resolution. "The narrow result in the mayoral elections in Tirana means that both sides need to reach out, overcome differences and find solutions," Ashton said. "Developments today have shown the fragility of the political situation," Ashton said. "I urge all political leaders in Albania and in the city of Tirana to support the finalisation of the election process calmly, constructively and with a focus on the future."

Focus News. CNN.