Albanian political parties hide contributors, Transparency International says

21/10/2008

TIRANA, Albania -- Political parties are keeping the identities of their financial donors secret in violation of the constitution, corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said in a report Monday (October 20th). The report identifies election campaigns as the major problem of the current political system, said Marjana Papa, head of the organisation's Albanian office. TI also criticises the lack of political will to adopt laws that would force parties to reveal their financing sources.

In other news, opposition parties fiercely criticised the government Monday for an incident that left a mother and her newborn dead. They drowned on Sunday after the boat they and other illegal immigrants were aboard sank in Butrinti Lake. The opposition says Albanians are trying to leave the country because the government is failing to secure proper living conditions for citizens. (Koha Jone, BBC, Shekulli, VOA, Top Channel - 21/10/08)