Lawmaker’s defection sparks debate

TIRANA, Oct. 2 – A lawmaker from the right-wing Republican Party defected to the leftistSocialist Movement for Integration, a move that will serve the leftist governing coalition to have the three-fifth of the vote, or 84, in the 140-seat parliament, enough to pass any law asking for a qualified majority.
Luan Duzha was lawmaker for the Elbasan area, in central Albania. He was a elected as a representative of the opposition Democratic Party-led coalition. On Wednesday it was learnt he had abandoned his Republican Party for SMI. Arjan Madhi, a senior leader of the Republicans confirmed the move while their top leader Fatmir Mediu said he could not contact Duzha. They said that Duzha was a Republican member in the last 15 years and found no reason why he should have left.
Duzha told Albanian media he had switched side because SMI commissioners had protected his votes during the elections. The official Democratic Party newspaper accused him of being bribed to switch sides.
Republican leaders called for a stop of such moves, often noted in the previous parliaments too. They said that the electoral code should be amended to stop such moves as they hurt voters’ rights.
Lulzim Basha of the main opposition Democratic Party also said Tuesday at a newsconference that the Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta, also leader of the SMI, should stop “fishing” for opposition lawmakers.The opposition fought hard not to let the governing leftist majority have the three-fifth of the numbers in parliament after the June 23 elections, where they suffered a heavy loss.