The Withdrawal of Mereme Sela’s Candidacy and the Impossibility of a Real Race Inside the Democratic Party

The announcement of Mereme Sela’s candidacy for the leadership of the Democratic Party was met with widespread reaction in the public and media sphere. Analysts from both the left and the right treated the move with irony, describing it as an unusual development, mainly because Sela was largely unknown to the wider public, at least in terms of political involvement.

According to the latest developments, the Democratic Party appears to have understood the negative effect caused by this candidacy and decided to withdraw it. However, the debate that unfolded over the past 24 hours — first about Sela’s candidacy and then about why other figures such as Ervin Salianji, Evi Kokalari or other names mentioned in the media were not allowed to run against Sali Berisha — seems more like political noise than a genuine internal contest.

In essence, any race against Sali Berisha within the Democratic Party remains almost impossible. As long as Berisha continues to be an active and dominant figure inside the party, challenging him from within appears to be more of a formality than a real political battle.

Even Lulzim Basha, who at one point controlled the party structures, the parliamentary group and most of the key mechanisms of the Democratic Party, failed to defeat Berisha politically within the party. This makes it even harder for other figures, with less political or organizational weight, to build a serious alternative against him.

The fact remains that, in public and political perception, the Democratic Party is still strongly identified with Sali Berisha. He has maintained significant political, organizational, economic and media influence, as was clearly demonstrated during his long confrontation with Lulzim Basha.

For this reason, most figures inside the Democratic Party understand very well that a direct confrontation with Berisha would be destined to fail. Those who choose to enter such a race are usually figures with limited political weight, aiming more for media visibility than for a real victory.

Under these circumstances, speaking of a genuine leadership race inside the Democratic Party is more of a political illusion than a reality. In fact, a truly open, competitive and equal race within the Democratic Party has never convincingly taken place.