When asked by the Voice of America if the DP and SMI would be on the list of US sanctions in case of violence, Palmer said that obstructing elections may be ground for being excluded from the relations with the USa.
“I cannot comment beyond this for hypothetical situations, but yes. It is absolutely a responsibility of the opposition leaders to make it clear to their supporters that violence is unacceptable. We also want to hear the same thing from the government. We have reiterated this several times. Everyone in Albania must hear it clearly from their leaders who have their support. They also must hear it from the international community, including the USA. It is something that I have underlined several times, and I reiterate: violence is unacceptable”, Palmer said.
As for the declaration of President Meta, who said that he hadn’t repealed the elections in the USA, but in Albania, Palmer said that in ideal conditions, they would have wanted all parties to run for the elections. “We made it clear to the opposition leaders before they decided to boycott elections. It is regrettable that they decided otherwise. But this doesn’t mean that the elections must not be held. After the elections, they will have the possibility to establish the Constitutional Court. It is up to the Court to decide whether the elections should be repeated or not, but this is up to the Court, not to politicians”.
For the USA, Albania has elections on June 30th: “We are expecting to see elections on June 30th. We hope for the elections to be held with transparency. We appeal the opposition leaders to make it clear to their supporters that there should be no violence on June 30th, and that no one should deprive those who want to vote from their right to do so. Peaceful protests are part of a democratic governing”.
Palmer said that after July 1st he expects dialogue and support for the judiciary reform and a quick establishing of the Constitutional Court.
When asked about the audio recordings that have been published, Palmer said that these are serious accusations that need to be investigated. “We support a professional, transparent investigation from the Albanian authorities. These are very serious accusations that require serious investigation”.
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