Unity for Human Rights Party

Unity for Human Rights Party Albanian: Partia Bashkimi për të Drejtat e Njeriut Greek: Κόμμα Ένωσης Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων
Leader	Vangjel Dule
Founded	1992
Ideology	Minority politics, Social liberalism Civic Nationalism
Political position	Centre
National Assembly	1 / 120
Municipalities	0 / 60
Communes	9 / 308
Website
http://www.pbdnj.com
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Albania

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The Unity for Human Rights Party (Albanian: Partia Bashkimi për të Drejtat e Njeriut, Greek: Κόμμα Ένωσης Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων) is a centrist^{[citation needed]}, liberal-inclined^{[citation needed]} party in Albania. Founded in 1992, it represents Albania's minorities and is mainly related to the Greek minority as it is the political continuation of the Democratic Union of the Greek Minority (Omonoia).

Election results

The party usually wins the plurality of seats as a single party in communes which are part of the 'Greek minority zone' (in Dropull, Dhivër, Pogon, Mesopotam, Finiq, Livadhja, Aliko) in addition to Himara.

The Unity for Human Rights Party joined a Socialist-led coalition in 1997. In the 2001 elections it received 2.6% of the vote and three members of parliament. At the elections of July 2005 it received 4.1% of the vote and two seats in parliament. The party leader is Vangjel Dule, while party member Vasil Bollano and Omonoia leader has served in the past as mayor of Himarë.

At the latest national elections of Albania in July 2009 the party received around 1,19% of the vote and one seat on the Albanian parliament. The only current deputy of the party in the Albanian parliament is Vangjel Dule, its leader.

In the 2011 local elections the party lost all of its municipal councillors in Gjirokastër and Delvinë, the capitals of two of its main electoral areas as well as one its two municipal seats in Sarandë. In Shkodër it maintained its seat and also gained one of the seats in Korçë as well as the mayorship in nine communes. PBNJ received a 2,59% of the vote countrywide.

Abstention from the 2011 census

In early October 2011, the Albanian government announced that a census will be conducted throughout the country which will counter the exact size of ethnic minorities for the first time after 1989. However, after proposal of the nationalist oriented PDIU, the Albanian government will fine 1,000$ every citizen that will declare an ethnicity other than what was written down on his or her birth certificate, even if this certificate was writtedn during the pre-1989 communist regime where minority status was limited to the 'minority zones' and a great number of minority members where forced to renounce their minority status. Unity for Human Rights Party responded that such a procedure contains serious irregularities and called its members to abstain from the census. This is believed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity, as the Albanian government has furthermore additionally stated that it will jail anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity.

As a result of these developments, organizations that represent five minority groups in Albania decided unanimously to boycott to upcoming census. Moreover, the Greek government calls for its Albanian counterpart to take urgent action since the right of free self-determination of the minorities isn't guaranteed with this proccedure.

External links

• Official website

See also

• Albanian parliament