23 May, 2017
After three months of protests demanding the creation of a technical government able to guarantee standards for upcoming political elections in June, Rama and Basha worked on an agreement to prevent a long crisis.
A three-month opposition boycott of parliament ended last week with an agreement between the governing Socialist Party and the opposition-led Democratic Party that was mediated by US and European Union officials.
Parliament was dissolved earlier this month as required by the constitution ahead of elections.
Prime Minister Edi Rama and opposition leader Lulzim Basha agreed to make some significant changes to the government cabinet as nearly half of the left wing coalition ministers will leave their post to be replaced with new ministers proposed by the opposition.
Parliament will vote on them Monday afternoon in a special session. All were made crimes punishable by a maximum of seven years' imprisonment.
Holding free and fair elections and implementing judicial reforms are key for Albania to start its long-awaited European Union accession talks this year. The DP has already forwarded nominations for technical Cabinet members, a deputy prime minister, 6 ministers and chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), ATA reports.
It also is expected to vote to create vetting bodies charged with evaluating the backgrounds of around 800 judges and prosecutors, a key request from the European Union before agreeing to launch membership negotiations with Albania. Previously Basha's Democratic Party and other opposition parties planned to boycott the election.
