STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Here's some crazy Orwellian propaganda justifying the complete control Western powers have in subverting democratic processes in Balkan states...] Albania bars 'independent' candidates before vote By Linda Spahia TIRANA, June 23 (Reuters) - Albania's Central Election Commission said on Saturday it had rejected 109 pseudo-independent parliamentary candidates who Western observers feared could have undermined voting on Sunday. Campaigning for the general election finished on Friday night with boisterous but peaceful rallies by supporters of Prime Minister Ilir Meta's Socialists and the opposition Democrats of former President Sali Berisha in Tirana. The campaign has been relaxed and free of violence, in stark contrast to the impoverished Balkan nation's last general snap election in 1997. Then, an Italian-led multinational peacekeeping force had just restored order after months of anarchy caused by the collapse of fraudulent "pyramid" investment schemes. Western observers, some 250 of whom will monitor Sunday's vote, had expressed concern about efforts by both the Socialists and Democrats to register a large number of candidates for the 140-seat, single-chamber parliament as independent. This would have given them a larger number of seats under constitutional provisions designed to ensure representation for smaller parties. The independent Commission said it had barred all but five of 114 candidates labelled "independent" by the two parties. "Only five of 114 candidates registered as independent are considered by the Central Election Commission to be truly independent," it said in a statement. Votes for these candidates will be allocated to the parties which are actually backing them when the vote is counted. Berisha, whose party had registered no fewer than 94 candidates as independent -- including the party's secretary-general -- said he welcomed the ruling. But the Socialists said their "independent" candidates would appeal the decision in court. There are no reliable public opinion polls. But Meta's Socialists, who won a landslide victory in local elections in October last year, are widely expected to remain in power albeit with a reduced majority. The Socialists have 99 seats in the outgoing 155-seat parliament and the Democrats 29. The total number of seats is being reduced to 140 under a constitutional reform enacted in 1998. To the relief of Albania's Western partners, the conflict in neighbouring Macedonia, where ethnic Albanian insurgents are battling government forces, and the whole concept of Greater Albania have not become election issues. Voting at 4,735 polling stations was to start at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and finish at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). Some 2.5 million people in this poor Balkan nation of 3.5 million were eligible to vote. Thirty-eight parties fielded candidates and a total of 1,114 candidates were standing. 11:04 06-23-01 ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
