In a race that so far seems more formal than real, the only name registered against Sali Berisha for the leadership of the Democratic Party is that of Mereme Sela, a doctor at the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Center in Tirana.
Sela is not a well-known figure in Albanian politics nor part of the DP leadership structures. She herself admits this. "I have never been given a leadership role," she said after submitting her candidacy for the blue seat, emphasizing that she is running with the idea of a new figure in politics.
She states that she has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2014, while in last year's primaries in the Durrës district she received only 43 votes, a modest result that nevertheless did not prevent her from entering the race for party leadership.
The QSUT doctor says she decided to run for DP leader based on her professional profile and the idea that the party needs new figures. "If the people care about health, education and children, I am one of the people with the right background," she declared.
Sela also recalled that in the DP primaries, she had requested that candidates appear before the membership and present their program, a practice that, according to her, was not carried out.
However, although she is officially in the running, she makes it clear that she has a figure she respects facing her. “I have a lot of respect for the Doctor because I have him as a colleague, a professor,” Sela said, adding that her battle is for the membership to elect a figure she calls “pure and unblemished.”
Her program for leading the Democratic Party focuses on two main areas: health and education.
In a process where several other candidacies were not accepted, Mereme Sela remains Sali Berisha's only official rival in the race for the leadership of the Democratic Party. Only Sali Berisha and his serviles in the party believe that this political confrontation will be real.
