The Complaints and Sanctions Commission has rejected the complaint of the Joint Movement for registration in the elections.
"The Joint Movement party submitted to the Tirana Court on January 9 the signatures of over 3,500 citizens, on February 9 the court was obliged to take a decision on the recognition of the Joint Movement.
The court made such a decision on March 2, violating the deadlines set by the party law.
However, on March 6, we submitted to the CEC the documentation that, according to our interpretation, fulfills the criteria to register the party in these elections. The claim of the CEC is that the certification we received from the court is not final, although none of the articles of the electoral code or the party law require that the decision be final. If we refer to Article 9 of the law of parties, it is said that the political party is recognized as a legal entity from the date when the court has approved and registered it.
If the legislator had considered the approval and registration of a party as two distinct levels, then it would have been stated that the party would be considered a legal entity on the second later date, that of its registration. Since we are talking about a date, approval and registration are considered equivalent and on the same date, thus the party is registered as a legal entity and registered from the date of approval, March 2.
Article 15 states that the court's decision on registration or non-registration can be appealed within 15 days from the announcement of the court's decision. This article shows that the court considers the party registered, it can deregister the party after an appeal, but until the appeal is made and a new decision is made, the party is considered registered. The interpretation that the CEC makes of 64 point 2 is unfair.
It should have been registered by the Tirana Court on February 9. The decision of the CEC takes away our constitutional right to participate in the elections and punishes us for a fault we have committed ," said Arlind Qori.