Denada Jushi
The Socialist Party, with four mandates in power, has decided to restructure the party, but it remains unclear whether it intends to have a presidential race. On the other hand, the Democratic Party has launched internal elections, which will be finalized with the election of a new president on May 23.
If we look at the three-decade journey of the two main parties in the country, we will see the dominance of leaders and structures that are subordinate to the presidents.
German scholar Thomas Poguntke has explained this phenomenon in his concept of the “personalization of politics” (Personalization of Politics), according to which internal democracy in the party weakens, as it focuses increasingly on the figure of the leader.
But let's look at the journey of the SP and the DP from 1991 to the present day, to see when there was intra-party competition and rivalry.
The Democratic Party was born as a party that focused on democracy, and over the past three decades there have been real clashes within it, but without significantly changing the weight of Sali Berisha in the leadership of the party, sometimes formally and sometimes in the shadows.
In December 1990, the DP was created with an Initiative Commission at its head, led by Azem Hajdari.
On February 14, 1991, after fierce debates in the commission and a meeting of the national active, it was agreed to elect Sali Berisha as temporary chairman of the Steering Committee. It was not until September 1991 that the regular National Assembly was held, where Berisha was elected chairman with a full mandate.
In August 1992, a confrontation began for the reform of the Democratic Party. Opposing Sali Berisha were those who were considered "motionists", including Arben Imami, Gramoz Pashko, Perikli Teta and Preç Zogaj.
The party assembly was held every two years. At the second DP assembly, in 1992, Eduard Selami was elected chairman.
He was reconfirmed again in 1993.
Following controversy over the separation of the post of party chairman from that of prime minister, at Selami's request, at an extraordinary DP conference held on March 5, 1995, Selami was dismissed from office after an open voting process.
On April 4–5, 1996, the third party convention was held.
The Assembly elected Tritan Shehu as leader of the Democratic Party.
On October 20–21, 1997, the fourth electoral assembly of the Democratic Party was held; in a race with the former Speaker of Parliament, Pjetër Arbnori, Sali Berisha was re-elected as the leader of the DP.
From September 30 to October 1, 1999, the sixth electoral assembly of the Democratic Party was held.
Genc Pollo entered the race against Sali Berisha, creating one of the strongest confrontations in the DP. However, Pollo refused to continue the race to the end. One day before the Assembly was held, he announced his withdrawal from the candidacy and Uran Butka entered the race.
Sali Berisha was re-elected as chairman, remaining at the helm of the party until 2013.
After losing the 2013 elections, Sali Berisha resigned and a race opened between Sokol Olldashi and Lulzim Basha. The latter was elected chairman. One of his priorities was the removal of several well-known figures from the DP such as Majlinda Bregu, Astrit Patozi, Jozefina Topalli and Ridvan Bode.
In 2017, Eduard Selami ran against Lulzim Basha, but Basha was reconfirmed.
In September 2021, the race for the Democratic Party was held between Lulzim Basha, Agron Shehaj, Fatbardh Kadillit and Edith Harxhi. The winner was again Lulzim Basha.
Also in 2021, the DP experienced one of its strongest internal confrontations. The debates began in September 2021, after the expulsion of Sali Berisha from the DP parliamentary group.
This clash lasted about three years and ended with Sali Berisha regaining the leadership of the party through a National Assembly.
May 2026 is expected to bring the new leader of the Democratic Party. In the race, just like in 1991, will be Sali Berisha. There is still no confirmation within the party for other candidacies, but it is expected that one of the most critical voices of recent months, Ervin Salianji, will also be in the race.
Although the Democratic Party has had different leaders over the years, Sali Berisha remains the figure considered the historic leader of the DP.
In the pink camp, there have been no presidential elections for years, not even as a formal procedure. However, this year the SP is expected to elect new leaders within its structures.
In June 1992, the first electoral congress of the Socialist Party was held, where Fatos Nano became party chairman.
In the summer of 1993, Nano was arrested, but nevertheless continued to lead the party from prison.
An important moment was 1999, when after Nano's resignation there was a crisis and internal debate in the Socialist Party.
Along with resigning from the party leadership, Fatos Nano also resigned as prime minister. That position was now held by his rival in the party race, Pandeli Majko.
In the congress's election session, Fatos Nano was re-elected chairman against Majko's candidacy.
The third congress of the Socialist Party was held in December 2003.
On December 12, 2003, another SP electoral congress was held. In the race against Nano were Rexhep Meidani and Edi Rama. Fatos Nano was re-elected as SP chairman.
In 2005, after losing the parliamentary elections, Nano resigned.
This was one of the most important competitions, coinciding with the end of the Nano era and the beginning of the Edi Rama era.
Since that period, there have only been re-elections of Rama, without any real competition.
The only moment where there was an internal debate was in 2009, when Ben Blushi demanded Rama's resignation, but the latter refused.
Ben Blushi and his group presented a platform with changes to the party's statute. The platform was defeated at the August 29 congress, which was also held behind closed doors.
Three candidates ran for the position of SP leader: Edi Rama, Arben Malaj and Maqo Lakrori.
The winner was Edi Rama.
The Socialists voted to renew Rama's mandate with about 95% of the votes. Since then, the Socialist Party has not held any more presidential elections.
What unites the two main parties in the country after three decades is the fact that they are led by strong leaders and internal democracy has remained largely formal, but not implemented in practice.acqj.al
