Ibsen Elezi, who is Sali Berisha’s only rival in the race for the Democratic Party’s new leader, said that his goal is to clean up the party of vote-riggers.

During his interview for Euronews Albania’s ‘Today’, Elezi admitted that his battle wasn’t an easy one, and he went ahead and called it a real jungle, which nonetheless didn’t intimidate him.

“It isn’t an unfair race, it’s a jungle, and you have no clear answer as to what you need to do next. People who rig votes have been publically declared like Edi Paloka and Albana Vokshi. And all these people, who have cast their ballots in the process of legalizing the theft committed by Lulzim Basha – I have always said that these people should not only leave the party, but that they should be prosecuted too. This is nothing short of alarming,” – said Elezi.

In addition, Elezi expressed his determination to protect each and every vote, and at all costs.

“They can’t manipulate votes with me around. I have the people and the means to protect my votes…These types of battles that we’ve inherited from the communist regime are nothing new to me; I’ve faced them since childhood. They’re nothing new,” – said Berisha’s only rival in DP’s leadership race.