Former MP Lajla Pernaska stated that she bears personal responsibility for her vote in favor of the 2008 constitutional changes, emphasizing that she has requested and will continue to request a public apology for that decision.
Invited to the Review show on Euronews Albania, Përnaska stated that the civic protest is a call for accountability and a reaction against the political system that, according to her, was built by the two main parties.
According to the former MP, the 2008 constitutional amendments created an unrepresentative system that favors long-term retention of power and limits citizens’ ability to elect their representatives.
“The foundation is in the constitutional changes of 2008. I feel an even greater and personal responsibility, because I voted for those changes. I have publicly apologized and will continue to publicly apologize for the vote I made in 2008,” said Pernaska.
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She argued that the electoral system created after these changes “eliminates the ability of citizens to elect their representatives”, turning, according to her, the parliament “from a parliament of citizens to a parliament of mayors”.
Pernaska added that the constitutional changes, along with changes to the electoral system and the removal of the no-confidence motion for the prime minister, have produced a “prime ministerial republic” and a political system that has brought stagnation and hindered political rotation.
According to her, the current political climate is a product of the actions of the two main parties, the SP and the DP, while the protests represent a reaction to the political establishment and the demand for change in the system.