Celebrating today the 98th anniversary of the proclamation of the Albanian Kingdom, the citizens of Albania and the entire nation commemorate with special honor the date of September 1, 1928, when a political system of national, social, economic and legal values, affirmed as the most successful and most desirable for them, began and functioned.
The commemoration of this date marked in the history of Albania finds the country almost destabilized by the lack of democracy and dysfunction of justice, systemic corruption, the corruption of the governing administration, low living standards, insecurity of life, organized and ordinary crime, the discriminatory electoral law against the equality of citizens, the corruption of family and social values, and others, resulting in the massive departure of Albanians from the country. While the opposite was expected after more than three decades of democratic regime.
The public allergy that this situation has created is being expressed in the protests that began three months ago as an environmental movement, but which naturally transformed into a sustainable civic movement as a challenge to the 36-year-old political reality that has caused this situation.
The regime itself, the political system, has been called into question. More precisely, this political system has failed and citizens are demanding its change. Taking as a trigger this strong public reaction, it is the moment to evoke the fact that the regime of the Albanian Kingdom, which lasted only 11 years, left Albania a wealth of concepts, practices and institutions, the standard of which, in almost all respects, has not been achieved by any subsequent government.
Why do Albanians love the Kingdom?
– The royal alternative under the leadership of King Zog is proven in Albania, being the most desirable by Albanians, because in that political regime they enjoyed security and rights that they have never enjoyed since.
– The kingdom was not removed by the Albanian people, but unfortunately by the fascist occupation.
– The monarchy, with King Leka I, was confirmed as the most desired political system of the Albanian voters of Albania in the Referendum of June 29, 1997 on the form of the regime, where it won with at least 54% of the votes at the national level, despite being openly manipulated.
– All opposition political parties of the time and over 30 other entities signed a political agreement on 04.06.1998 that the referendum was manipulated and should be repeated.
– There is no constitutional obstacle to repeating the referendum. Article 151/3 of the Constitution of Albania clearly states: “A referendum on the same issue cannot be repeated before three years have passed since its holding.”
– Prince Leka II, legitimate heir to the royal throne, meets all the conditions and is ready to exercise the power that stems from this political system if Albanians request it with a majority of votes.
– The "Kingdom" system is not just an Albanian model. States with this political system in Europe have proven to be the most developed countries and with the highest political, economic and social stability.
Based on these premises, time is making it necessary for the citizens of Albania to take legal action to begin the procedures for holding a referendum on the form of the political regime in Albania.
The Kingdom is not simply a political regime, but a stage that homogenizes society, a common national shield, which almost all modern states have passed through. History proves that about two decades after the establishment of the Albanian state, Albania was the only country in the Balkans and the Albanians were the only nation that did not have this shield, while all other states and nations in this region had formed the respective political unit precisely from their kingdoms. For the first time under the Monarchy, the Albanian state was recognized by all Western states, first of all by the USA and the United Kingdom.
With the proclamation of the Kingdom, King Zog oriented the entire structure and institutions of government towards the best Western models. As rarely in the history of Albania, the best legal, economic, military and diplomatic expertise of Western countries was called upon. The Fundamental Statute, the civil code, the commercial code, the criminal code, the code of civil procedure, etc., drafted under this expertise, marked the complete break with the legislation of the Ottoman period and oriented Albania towards the construction and functioning of a modern state, with a clear Western European orientation. The Albanian monarchy governed the country through a democratically elected parliament, putting an end to the fragmentary policies that had threatened it for quite some time after the establishment of the Albanian state.
As is well known, the political system "People's Republic of Albania", which came after the Kingdom and was installed by the communist regime on January 11, 1946, turned Albania into the country with the most brutal dictatorship among the former communist countries and the consequences are already known. Meanwhile, the political system "Parliamentary Republic", established in 1992, proved to be a great disappointment for the Albanians.
Evoking the realities above, I say with well-founded conviction that, not only the royals but, according to the now certified opinion, the majority of Albanian citizens demand the return of the Monarchy.
