International Day of Democracy, Zhupa: Albania, hybrid democracy with autocratic features

Deputy Ina Zhupa, on the international day of democracy, said that Albania is a hybrid democracy, where the features of dictatorships rule over those of democracy.

In a post on Facebook, Zhupa writes that "the lack of separation of powers, the lack of the rule of law, keeping the opposition leader as a political prisoner, not guaranteeing electoral standards and not respecting human rights are some of the reasons he lists for them classified hybrid democracy in the country."

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September 15, the international day of democracy!

Albania is a hybrid democracy, where the features of dictatorships prevail over those of functional democracy, whose characteristics are more formal than substantial.

Beyond being a politician, as a Doctor of Science for the democratization and values ​​of the Albanian society, I cannot help but share with you the analysis of the failure in the three main components of the quality of democracy.

1- Separation of powers and the rule of law.

Today, all power is concentrated in the hands of the executive power, where the government makes laws to order, where the initiatives of deputies in the legislative power are left in the drawer or voted against a priori.

The Albanian Parliament did not implement by political order the decisions of the Constitutional Court for the mandate of Olta Xhaçka, an unprecedented behavior in democracy, Destruction of the rule of law and open opposition to the judicial power.

2- Periodic free elections and political pluralism.

Today in Albania, the leader of the opposition, Sali Berisha, is being held as a political prisoner, where for 3 and a half years they could not charge him. Even now that they have raised one, it simply strengthens the evidence for the political struggle. A charge where charity is considered corruption and charity must be punished. Inconceivable in a democratic state. Leaders of the opposition are arrested and persecuted only in countries like Russia, Palestine, Venezuela, but in no democratic country. This after there was a fierce fight in the judicial power to hold hostage the flag and symbols of the PD and to appoint an opposition leader.

The last elections were the worst and with the lowest standards in the last 20 years, the OSCE-ODIHR report on local elections proves this. The report calls for law enforcement institutions to independently identify and investigate allegations of election violations, including vote buying, voter pressure, and abuse of state resources. I also emphasize the buying and selling of votes in a special way, which violates the integrity of the elections.

3- Respect for human rights.

Albania marks a regression in freedom of expression and media freedom. Basic human rights are neither guaranteed nor respected by the state. We are a country that does not have a minimum living wage defined by law and citizens do not enjoy the freedom to live with dignity. The right to education is undermined, the decline in the quality of teaching, the lack of laboratories, the decline in the number of students as a result of the emigration phenomenon, etc. are just some of the problems. In protests, the police behave as the authorities, where they have to destroy the "local army" that are the protesters, without respecting any of the legal obligations for their rights.

Democracy means the power of the people, but in fact the voice of the people is not even heard, they no longer have decision-making power in Albania.

It is the duty of each of us who believe in democracy and freedom to fight for it.