Former MP Lajla Përnaska: I bear responsibility for my vote in favor of the 2008 constitutional changes and I publicly apologize

Former MP Lajla Përnaska said she considers herself personally responsible for the vote she cast in favor of the 2008 constitutional changes, stressing that she has publicly apologized and will continue to do so.

In an interview for the program Review on Euronews Albania, Përnaska said civic protests should be seen as a call for accountability and as opposition to the political system which, according to her, was built by the two main political forces.

She said that at the root of the situation are the 2008 constitutional changes, which, in her view, produced an unrepresentative system that favors long stays in power and narrows citizens’ right to choose their representatives.

“The foundation lies in the 2008 constitutional changes. I feel an even greater and personal responsibility, because I am one of those who voted for those changes. I have publicly apologized and I will continue to publicly apologize for that vote I cast in 2008,” Përnaska said.

According to her, the electoral system established after these changes “eliminated citizens’ ability to choose their representatives,” while parliament, as she put it, was transformed “from a parliament of citizens into a parliament of party leaders.”

Përnaska also stated that these constitutional changes, combined with changes to the electoral system and the removal of the motion of no confidence against the prime minister, have created a “prime ministerial republic” and a political order that, according to her, has brought stagnation and hindered political rotation.

She added that the current political climate is the result of the actions of the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party, while the protests, according to her, represent a reaction against the political establishment and a demand for systemic change.