Albanian constitutional referendum, 1998

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A constitutional referendum was held in Albania on 22 November 1998. [1] Voters were asked whether they approved of the constitution. It was approved by 93.5% of voters with a turnout of 50.6%, [2] and came into force on 28 November. [3]

Albania country in Southeast Europe

Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and a maritime border with Italy to the west.

It is the fundamental law of the Republic of Albania. The present Constitution of Albania was adopted by the Parliament on 28 November 1998. It is split up over many different acts. The document succeeded the 1976 Constitution, originally adopted at the creation of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania on 28 December 1976 and heavily amended on 29 April 1991.

Contents

Background

In September 1997 a 21-member Constitutional Commission was formed by Parliament, including twelve members of the ruling Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party and nine members of the Democratic Party. The Commission was given a six-month timeframe for producing a draft. [3]

Socialist Party of Albania Albanian political party

The Socialist Party of Albania, is a social-democratic political party in Albania; it gained power following the 2013 parliamentary election. The party seated 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament. It achieved power in 1997 following a political crisis and governmental realignment. At the 2001 parliamentary election the party secured 73 seats, which enabled it to form a government. At the general election of 3 July 2005, the Socialist Party lost its majority and the Democratic Party of Albania (PD) formed the new government, having secured, with its allies, a majority of 81 seats.

Social Democratic Party of Albania political party

The Social Democratic Party of Albania is a social-democratic minor political party in Albania. The party held seats in Parliament between 1992 and 1996, and again from 1997 until 2009. It is currently led by Skënder Gjinushi, a former Minister of Education (1987–1991) and Speaker of Parliament.

Democratic Party of Albania political party

The Democratic Party of Albania is a conservative political party in Albania. The party became the leading party in the governing coalition following the 2005 parliamentary elections. It is an associate member of the European People's Party (EPP) and a full member of the International Democrat Union and Centrist Democrat International. Rilindja Demokratike is the party's official newspaper.

The public were widely consulted during the process using surveys, forums and public meetings. Despite the Democratic Party boycotting the Commission until the latter stages of the process and a coup attempt by its leader Sali Berisha, the Commission produced its draft constitution on 4 August 1998 having obtained a six-month extension. After its publication further hearings and debates were held, resulting in around a quarter of the articles in the first draft being amended. [3]

Sali Berisha Albanian politician

Sali Berisha , is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. He was also the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania twice, from 1991 to 1992 and then again from 1997 to 2013. To date, Berisha is the longest-serving democratically elected leader and the only Prime Minister to serve two full terms since the end of Communism.

The second draft was then approved by Parliament on 21 October 1998 with 115 in favour and none against (the other 40 MPs, mostly Democratic Party members, did not attend the vote). [3]

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For879,48893.5
Against61,0006.5
Invalid blank votes27,000
Total968,346100
Registered voters/turnout1,914,85950.6
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Note that the data is inconsistent, possibly due to mistakes at polling stations not being corrected at higher levels. [2]

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p133 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. 1 2 Nohlen & Stöver, p137
  3. 1 2 3 4 Albania 1998 Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine . Constitution Writing & Conflict Resolution