Oketa: I’m leaving the Democratic Party

Although this declaration, made public at “Tonight” program of journalist Ilva Tare was not a surprise, the confirmation by Oketa that he will leave the party is very important news. First of all, because less than 18 months before the next central elections, Prime Minister Berisha will have to make his calculations with at least one MP less, many votes lost.

Secondly, Oketa’s decision to leave the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group is an additional signal for the words that are traveling around about the creation of a new political party, which is believed to be led by the current President, Bamir Topi, after his Presidential mandate will be over this July.

According to Mr. Oketa, whose party still hasn’t a name, the political organization will be announced by the end of March and one of the initiators will represent the party in public.

Will this person be Gazmend Oketa? This is still unclear, but it is safe to say that the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense at the Berisha government until 2009 will be the Parliamentary voice of the new party of President Topi.

Mr. Oketa was elected as MP in Durres, in 2005. He has been a supporter of Bamir Topi since then, when they chose him for President.

All Democratic colleagues of Mr. Oketa who were part of this group were not listed as MPs in 2009.

But Oketa’s vote against the amends for the Secret Service law in 2010, and his declaration that the rejection of the Presidential decree for the property law was shameful were episodes that finalized the cold relation with the Parliamentary Group.

 After the January 21st killings of the protesters in front of the Prime Minister’s office, Oketa criticized the stances of Prime Minister Berisha towards President Bamir Topi. The MP says that he has left the Parliamentary Group since October, after he stopped being present at the Parliamentary Groups, which he has strongly criticized, together with the lack of democracy in the Party forums.

Although Oketa left the DP Parliamentary Group, he declared that he will not join his vote with the SP in case of a confidence motion against the government.

Oketa’s decision to leave the DP was passed in silence by the party, but this will not be for long, since the new Party of the Albanian President is expected to be announced soon, facing Berisha’s Democratic Party.

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