The leader of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha declared that the opposition is set to propose vetting politicians in compliance with the opinion of the Venice Commission released in 2018.

Basha reiterated that the process aims to verify links between politicians and organized crime as well as their wealth.

“It is a legitimate objective and we respect the Venice Commissions’ request to have the process carried out by SPAK”, said the head of DP.

The opposition will also call on the Parliament to modify the Constitutional amendments from the previous parliamentary polls, adopted unilaterally by the ruling majority during the previous legislative.

Thirdly, the opposition will also demand to start off the territorial reform.

Basha informed that all three legal initiatives will be submitted in the upcoming days.

Asked whether he has received any guarantees from the parliamentary majority about vetting politicians, Basha responded that he will refer to the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

According to him, the move will cleanse Albanian politics from individuals linked to organized crime, as well as cut off corrupted politicians who cannot justify their wealth.

This is not the first time that the Democrats make such a call, with the first time recorded back in 2018. The initiative was initially endorsed by the Socialists and PM Edi Rama, but it was the SP who sent DP’s proposal to the Venice Commission.

According to the Commission’s opinion released on 14 December 2018, constitutional amendments for vetting politicians “may lead to abuse of power” as there are no safeguards to safely avoid that.