Constitution of the Party of Labour of Albania

7/27/2019 Constitution of the Party of Labour of Albania

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ALBANJA REPORTP. O. BOX 912

NEW YORK , N. Y. 10008

THE CONSTITUTION OF THEPARTY OF LABOUR OF

A L B A N I AAdopted by the 3rd Congress of the PLA

(Including amendments made at the 4th, 5th, 6th,an d 7th Congresses of the PLA)

THE -8 NENTORI* PUBLISHING HOUSETIRANA, 1977


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THE PARTYThe Party of Labour of Albania is theorganized vanguard detachment of the workingclass of Albania, its highest form of organiza-tion. It is made up of conscious revolutionaries

tested in the struggle for the cause of the peo-ple and socialism, van gua rd fighters for theimplementation of its general line, who comefrom the working class, the cooperativist pea-santry, and from the people's intelligentsia.The Party of Labour of Albania is a volun-tary militant union of communists with a mo-nolithic ideological and organization al unity ,which does no t allow any kind of divisive orfactional activity or any kind of deviation fromits general line, from Marxism-Leninism.Th e Party of Labour of Albania gives over-al l leadership to the working class in all as-pects of the life of the country - politicial, eco-


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nomic, cultural and military. It is the leadingforce of the Albanian people, defending theirvital interests and the interests of socialism ona national and international scale.In defining its policy and in all its acti-vity, the Party of Labour of Albania is guidedby Marxism-Leninism. Loyalty to Marxist-Le-ninist principles, their creative application inthe internal conditions of the country and theconcrete international circumstances are thesource of its strength, its steel-like unity, andits historic victories.The Party of Labour of Albania is the heirto the brilliant patriotic and democratic revo-lutiona ry traditions of the Alban ian people.The Party of Labour of Albania is thedirect continuation of the Communist Party ofAlbania. It was founded on November 8, 1941by the Albanian communists on the basis of theAlbanian workers' and communist movement,through the merging of the communist groupsinto a single revolutionary party of the workingclass on Marxist-Leninist ideological and orga-nizational foundations. It originated from theunion of the workers' movement with scientificsocialism, with the communist ideas whichspread in Albania following the Great OctoberSocialist Revolution.

The Party of Labour of Albania wascreated and tempered as a revolutionary Marx-ist-Leninist party in fierce struggle against thefascist occupiers, against the local reactionaryexploiting classes, against the imperialists andtheir tools, against the enemies of Marxism-Leninism and of the Party factionalists,Trotskyites, opportunists and revisionists within and without its ranks.The Party of Labour of Albania is the lea-der and organizer of the historic victory of theAlbanian people in the Nationa l Liberation Waragainst the fascist occupiers and the traitors.On November 29 , 1944 the Albanian peoplewon their freedom and complete national in-dependence, overthrew the power of the bour-geois and feudal explo iting classes, and establi-shed the people's power. Albania broke awayfor ever from the world capitalist system an dstarted on the road of socialism.Under the leadership of the Party of La-bour of Albania, the people's revolution de-veloped unin terruptedly from an anti-imperial-ist democratic revolution into a socialist revo-lution. The People's Republic of Albania wasestablished. The People's state power wh ichemerged during the National Liberation War,was transformed into a dictatorship of the pro-


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letariat in the form of a state of people's demo-cracy. This state power served as a decisiveweapon to carry out deep-going revolutionarytransformations in the political, economic, so-cial an d cultural fields. The Land Reform wascarried out. foreign capital was nationalized,the local exploiting classes were expropriated,socialist industry was set up, agriculture wascollectivized, the socialist system of the econo-m y was created. In this way, the economicbase of socialism was set up and the principlefrom each according to his abilities, to eachaccording to his work was implemented bothin town and countryside. Albania was trans-formed from a backward agricultural countryinto an agricultural-industrial country.The unity of the people around the Partyhas found its embodiment in the DemocraticFront of Albania the direct continuation ofthe National Liberation Front created by theParty during the National Liberation War, asa political organization of the broad masses ofthe people, the foundation of which is the al-liance of the working class with the coopera-tivist peasantry under the leadership of theworking class.The immediate objective of the Party ofLabour of Albania is the complete construction6

of socialist society. In order to attain this objec-tive, it sets itself these main tasks:to develop the socialist revolution uninter-ruptedly and carry it through to the end on theeconomic, political an d ideological fronts, byconsistently adhering to the law of the classstruggle;to ensure the complete construction of thematerial-technical base of socialism by develop-ing the forces of production at a ragid rate inorder to transform Albania from an agricultu-ral-industrial country into an industrial-agri-cultural one, and later on into an industrialcount ry with advanced agriculture;to further develop and continuously per-fect the socialist relations of production by ex-tending an d strengthening socialist ownershipover the means of production, by uninterrupted-ly perfecting the fo rms of distribution andmethods of management of the socialist econo-my; to fight for the gradual narrowing of thedistinction between the working class and thepeasantry, between town and countryside, bet-ween industry and agriculture, and betweenmental and manual work;to ensure, on the basis of the developmentof the forces of production and the perfectionof the relations of production, a continuous rise


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in the material wellbeing and the cultural levelof the people;to ceaselessly strengthen and perfect thedictatorship of the proletariat, the principalweapon for the complete construction of social-ist society and for the gradual transition tocommunism;to steadily raise the socialist consciousnessof the peoples for the complete triumph of theproletarian ideology and communist morality.During the socialist construction of thecountry the Party is guided by the principle ofself-reliance.For the complete construction of socialistsociety in Albania, it is necessary for the Partyto perfect its own organization continuously onthe basic Marxist-Leninist principle of demo-cratic centralism, to guard its unity and irondiscipline as the apple to its eye, to further de-velop its internal democracy, the activation andcreative initiative of all the communists andall party basic organizations; to strengthen thecollective method as the highest principle of theleading work of the Party, and the control ofthe Party from above-down, and especiallyf rom below-up; to strengthen criticism andself-criticism to disclose and eliminate short-comings and errors; to improve its composition8

continually with resolute, conscious, vanguardfighters for the cause of the Party, the peopleand socialism, to strengthen the revolutionaryideological tempering of the communists.The Party of Labour of Albania is a revo-lutionary detachment of the international com-munist movement. In holding aloft the trium-phant banner of the great ideas of Marx, Engels,Lenin and Stalin, its tasks are:to defend the purity of the revolutionarydoctrine of Marxism-Leninism and wage a irre-concilable principled struggle up till the com-plete ideological and political exposure anddestruction o f modern revisionism, with theSoviet revisionist leading group, which is thechief enemy in the international communistmovement, at its centre, as well as to fightdogmatism and every other anti-Marxist trend;to wage a resolute struggle against impe-rialism, to ensure freedom and national inde-pendence, the triumph of socialism on a worldscale, and the defence o f peace, by strengthen-in g the revolutionary anti-imperialist front ,directed first of all against US imperialism andSoviet social-imperialism the chief commonenemies of the peoples of the whole world;to support and help all Marxist-Leninistparties and other revolutionary' forces in the- 111 9


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struggle against imperialism and revisionism;to support with all its strength the revolu-tionary liberation movements of the proletariatand the oppressed peoples;to fight for the Marxist-Leninist unity ofthe international communist and workers'movement on the basis of proletarian interna-tionalism, to fight fo r friendship and close fra-ternal collaboration with the peoples of social-ist countries and for friendship with all thepeoples of the world who fight imperialism,social-imperialism, modern revisionism, andreaction.In its relations with fraternal socialistcountries and with sister Marxist-Leninist com-munist and workers' parties, the Party adheresto the principle of independence, completeequality, non-interference in internal affairsand reciprocal fraternal international coopera-tion and aid.The ultimate objective of the Party ofLabour of Albania is the construction of com-munist society in Albania, in which the prin-ciple, from each according to his abilities, toeach according to his needs will be applied.

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IIPARTY MEMBERS,THEIR DUTIES

AND RIGHTS1) Any working man or woman, who is acitizen of the People's Socialist Republic of Al-bania, who does no t exploit the labour ofothers, who accepts the program and Constitu-tion of the Party and who works actively toput them into practice, who takes part andworks in one of the party organizations, carriesout all the decisions of the Party and regularlypays membership dues can be a member of theParty of Labour of Albania.

2) The duties of the party members are:a) to resolutely defend the unity and thepurity of the ranks of the Party, the main con-dition for its strength and invincibility; the

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Party does not permit the existence of factionswithin its ranks;b) to strictly abide by and implement theConstitution, the policy and decisions of theParty, the laws of the state, the norms of com-munist morality, to preserve and further devel-op the patriotic traditions and the good cus-toms of the people; it is not enough for theparty member merely to accept the decisionsof the Party, he must also be an active f i g h t e rfor carrying them out; a passive and fo rma lattitude of communists towards party decisionsweakens the f igh t ing capacity of the Party; theparty member should always take a revolutiona-ry stand in regard to party decisions; therecannot be two disciplines in the Party, one forthe leaders and one for the rank-and-f ile; theParty has only one discipline, which is equallyobligatory on all the party members, regardlessof the merits and the position any individualmay have;c) to work untiringly to master the Marx-ist-Leninist theory, linking it closely with life,with the practice of socialist construction, tofight relentlessly to temper his own revolutio-nary consciousness; to think, work and live likea revolutionary and to put politics in commandin all his activity;12

d) to continuously strengthen his ties withthe masses, to live up to his principles, be just,honest, modest, with a strong character andwill, to love the people and serve them loyally;to win the respect and confidence of the massesof the working people; to be a vanguard f igh te reverywhere and at all times, to always be anexample of good behaviour and communistmorality and not separate his word f rom hisdeeds; to be an enemy of conceit, arrogance,servility, career-seeking, indi fference, liberal-ism and the spirit of commanding the workingpeople; to learn from the masses and be aleader and educator of them, to work activelyin the mass organizations; to be an agitator,propagandist, and ardent defender of the lineof the Party; to explain the policy and deci-sions of the Party to the working people, to relyf i rmly on them, on their experience, to listenattentively to the voice of the masses and to putinto practice their correct opinions and pro-posals for the fulf i lment of the tasks of theParty, to work tirelessly to strengthen the unityof the people in the Democratic Front underthe leadership of the Party;e) to set an example of conscientious work,to be a tireless worker, to work ceaselessly toraise his educational and cultural level, to en-

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hance his professional abilities, to master tech-nology, to steadily increase the productivityof his labour an d work an d produce with highquality, to fight any alien attitude towardswork, to energetically support the progressivenew and fight for its dissemination;f) to protect and strengthen the socialistcommon property, the sacred and inviolablefoundation of our socialist order at all costs, tofight sternly and unhesitatingly, against thosewho misuse or damage it, against disorder andneglect in its management, bearing in mindthat misuse of and damage to the common pro-perty, failure to look after it, are grave crimes;g) to place Party and state interests the

interests of the people above his personalinterests; he enjoys no privilege whatever be-fore the laws of the state and is answerable thesame as all other citizens fo r violation of them;to be the first in facing up to difficulties, thefirst to make sacrifices, and against any privi-lege or unjust claim:h) to be a ruthless and courageous fighteragainst the class enemy, to wage the classstruggle unhesitatingly and uninterruptedly,to constantly sharpen his revolutionary vigi-lance in defence of the Party, Marxism-Lenin-ism and the principles o f proletarian interna-14

tionalism; to rise courageously against any dis-tortion and wavering in the implementation ofthe line of the Party, against any influence ofbourgeois and revisionist ideologies, to fightrelentlessly against bureaucracy and liberalismand for the eradication of all alien manifesta-tions, o f bourgeois and petty-bourgeois rem-nants in people's consciousnes and backwardcustoms; to consider the preservation o f partyand state secrets a sacred duty, bearing inmind that any carelessness in this respect is tothe direct advantage of the enemies of the Par-ty and charges the communists with grave res-ponsibility ;i) to be a resolute fighter for the defenceand strengthening of the socialist Homelandand the people's power against external andinternal enemies, to be exemplary in carryingout the tasks of military training, o f reachinga high level o f combat readiness and physicaltempering;j) to develop unrestricted criticism an dself-criticism, especially criticism f rom below-up. to be severe and merciless towards his ownshortcomings and errors, which he should notconceal f rom the Party, as well as towards theshortcomings and errors o f others, to exposethem, and through his example and just strug-15


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gle help to correct them, to be irreconcilablewith those who suppress criticism or hamperits development an d replace it with bombasticwords and praises;to struggle against being satisfied withlittle, self-satisfaction and becoming dizzy withsuccess;it is his duty to intervene energetically tocorrect shortcomings an d weaknesses observedin work and unju st attitudes, and, if necessary,to report them to the leading organs of theParty right upt to the Central Committee, with- -out hesitation and regardles of wh at personmay be involved; the party member shouldnever conceal an unsatisfactory state of affairs,and should allow no un just actions, which ha rmthe interests of the Party and the State, to becommitted.k) to work with justice and honesty in anyjob to which he is appointed, and not allowconcealment and distortion of the truth, bear-ing in mind that lack of sincerity towards theParty an d deception of the Party are seriouscrimes for a communist; to always be guidedby the principles of the Party, to be irrecon-cilable with the solution of problems on thebasis of relations of friendship, personal con-nections, kinship and local interests; to fight16

for the precise implementation of the policy ofthe Party in the selection of cadres and theappointment of people to work, on the basis.of their loyalty, their political an d moral quali-ties and abilities.If he fails to carry out the above dutiesproperly the party member is subject to criti-cism and disciplinary measures of an educativecharacter. In cases when he violates them se-riously, breaches the unity of the Party, trans-gresses the laws of the state and the decisions ofth e Party, damages th e common property andthe general interests of the people, or deceivesthe Party, for these grave faults he is punishedseverely, up to expulsion from the Party.3) The Party member has the right:

a) To take part freely and actively in thediscussion of problems of party policy, at partymeetings and in the party press:b) to criticize, at party meetings, the acti-vity an d conduct of any party member, regard-less of the post he holds;c) to elect and to be elected to the leadingorgans of the Party;d) to take part personally on all occasions in 17


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at which a decision is taken concerning hisactivity or conduct;e) to address himself to all the leading or-gans of the Party, up to the Central Committeeof the Party of Labour of Albania, over anypersonal or party problems and to ask any ques-tions, and make any requests, statements andproposals to them.4) Admission to the Party

Admission to the Party is done in an indi-vidual manner only. New members are admit-ted only from the ranks of candidates for partymembership, who have completed the set pro-bation period. The new members admitted tothe Party must come from the ranks of theworking class, the working peasantry and thepeople's intelligentsia and be conscientious, ac-tive, of strong character, and excellent conductan d morality, ready for any sacrifice, clearpolitically and ideologically, consistent revolu-tionaries, linked with the masses and of provenloyalty to the cause of communism.For admission to the Party no distinctionis made on account of nationality, race or sex.18

Those admitted to the Party must havecompleted 18 years of age.The rules for admission to the Party areas follows;a) All those seeking acceptance as candi-dates for party membership must present therecommendations of three members with notless than five years membership of the Party,who have known the candidate during theirwork together for not less than three years,with the exception of particular cases; candi-date members applying for admission to theParty do not present ne w recommendations,since the recommendations they have alreadypresented for their admission as candidates formembership are still valid;Note one: For admission to the Party ofmembers of the Labour Youth Union of Albania^the recommendation issued by the basic orga-nization of the LYUA and approved by the dist-trict or regional committee of the LYUA or ano-ther committee of the same rank, replaces therecommendation of one party member.Note 'two: Members and candidate mem-bers of the Central Committee of the Party ofLabour of Albania abstain from giving recom-mendations.b) the question of admission to the Party is

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examined and decided at the meeting of partybasic organization; the decision of the partybasic organization comes into force after beingapproved by the Party committee of the dis-trict or region; following this approval, themember admitted to the party is given his Par-ty card, whereas the candidate member is givenhis candidate's certificate;Note: It is not obligatory for those whorecommended the candidate to attend the meet-ing of the basic organization, when the ques-tion of the admission to the Party is examinedand decided. *c) young man and women up to 20 yearsare admitted to the Party only from the ranksof theLYUA;

d) those who have been members of otherparties can be admitted to the Party of Labourof Albania only in exceptional cases and withthe recommendation of four party members,three of whom must have a length of partymembership of not less than ten years, whilethe other must be a party member at least fromthe year 1943; the admission is done onlythrough the party basic organization and comesinto force only after being approved by theCentral Committee of the Party of Labour ofAlbania;20

e) the party members who give their re-commendation must be well acquainted withthe candidate whom they recommend and mustbe fully convinced that he will be a worthymember of the Party; they are responsible tothe Party for the quality and trustworthinessof their recommendations;f) the length of party membership of theperson who is admitted as a party memberfrom the ranks of candidate members startsfrom the day when the meeting of the partybasic organization decides to admit him as aparty member.5) The member of a party organization,when transferred to another party organiza-tion, is enrolled by the latter as its member.Note: The transfer of the party membersfrom one organization to another is done ac-cording to the rules set out by the Central Com-mittee of the Party of Labour of Albania.6) When, without reason, a party member,does not take part in the meetings of his basicorganization or does not pay his membershipdues for three months in succession, the partyorganization must examine the question of his

remaining in the party ranks and take a deci-sion on this. Regardlless of what measure istaken on this occasion, the decision of the basic21


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organization, comes into force after being ap-proved by the committee of the district orregion.7) The expulsion of a member from theParty is decided by the meeting of the partybasic organization of which he is a member andcomes into force after being approved by partycommittee of the district or region.Pending the approval of the decision ofexpulsion by the district or region committeeof the Party, the Party member keeps his Par-ty card and has the right to participate in themeetings of the party basic organization.8) The party basic organization cannottake the decision to expel a member from the

Party, or reduce him to a candidate member,if he is a member of the Central Committee ofthe Party of Labour of Albania, or of the Partycommittee of the district or region.Expulsion from the Party or reduction tocandidate membership of the members of thedistrict party committees, is decided by the ple-nums of the respective committees, if the res-pective plenum deems it necessary on the basis

of two-thirds of the votes.9) The question of the expulsion of a mem-ber of the Central Committee of the Party of22

Labour of Albania from the Central Commit-tee, as well as of his expulsion from the Partyor reduction from a Party member to a candi-date member, is decided by the congress of theParty and, in the period between two congres-ses, by the plenum of the Central Committeeof the Party of Labour of Albania, with a majo-rity of two-thirds of votes of the members ofthe Central Committee. The member expelledfrom the Central Committee is replaced by acandidate member of the Central Committeeby decision of the Plenum of the Central Com-mittee.10 ) The decision on the expulsion of amember from the Party must be taken onlyafter a thorough examination of his conductand faults, after a careful verification of whe-ther the charges brought against him are true,and after they have been judged in a mostcomradely spirit, with the greatest justice andmaturity.For less serious faults and mistakes, partydisciplinary measures of an educative character(in accordance with the rules laid down by theCentral Committee of the Party) are taken andexpulsion from the Party, which is the gravestdisciplinary measure in the Party, is not im-mediately resorted to.

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When necessary, as a disciplinary measure,the party organization may decide to reduce aparty member to a candidate for party mem-bership for a period of not less than one year.The decision of the party basic organization toreduce party member to a candidate for partymembership, comes into force after being ap-proved by the district or party committee ofthe region. After the elapse of the period set,the question of the party member reduced to acandidate for party membership is examined bythe basic organization and if he is readmittedto the Party, his former length of member-ship is recognised.11) Disciplinary measures of an educativechaiacter taken against a party member maybe lifted when, through his work and good at-titude he gives proof that he has corrected him-self and that he is fulfilling his duties as a par-ty member regularly and conscientiously.12) The decision to expel a member fromthe Party must be examined by the respectiveorgans of the Party not later than thirty daysafter the adoption of the decision by the basicorganization.

13) For violations of the unity of the Par-ty, failure to carry out the decisionsof the high-er organs, and other grave faults in opposi24

tion to the line of the Party, such disciplinarymeasures may be taken against basic organiza-tions as a general re-enrolment of the members(the dissolution of the party basic organization).The decision on the general re-enrolment ofmembers comes into force only after being ap-proved by the Central Committee of the Party.14) Anyone expelled from the Party, orany communist against whom disciplinarymeasures of an educative character have beentaken, enjoys the right of appeal against thedecision on his expulsion from the Party or thedisciplinary measure, up to the Central Com-mittee of the Party of Labour of Albania. Theappeal lodged by those expelled or by commu-nists against whom disciplinary measures havebeen taken, must be examined by the respec-tive local organs of the Party not later than

thirty days after it has been lodged, and by theCentral Control and Audit Commission notmore than forty-five days later.The return to the Party of a member

unjustly expelled from it is decided by the or-gan of the Party which has approved his expul-sion or by the higher organs of the Party. Inthese cases the member's former length ofmembership in the Party is recognised.


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Il lCANDIDATES FOR PARTYMEMBERSHIP

15) All those who wish to join the Party,must serve the probation period fixed for thecandidates for party membership, a periodindispensable fo r the candidate fo r membershipto acquaint himself with the program, theConstitution and the tactics of the Party, andfo r the basic organization to become thoroughlyacquainted with the personal qualities of thecandidate member, first and foremost, in thepractical implementation of the line and tasksof the Party.

The probation period fo r a candidate mem-ber must serve to temper him with the qua-lities of a communist and to test whether he iscapable of preserving and developing them fur*ther, even in difficult conditions and circums-tances. The probation period for candidates for26

Party membership, especially those with originor status as officials, or who come from intel-lectual families, or are such themselves, mustbe carried out wherever the party basic orga-nization or the party committee assigns them,mostly to difficult sectors of work, according totheir profession, or simply to manual work,near their place of residence or outside it. Theprobation period should serve the intensive,all-round, ideological education of the candi-date member, therefore he must place himselfcompletely under the direction of the party ba-sic organization and the workers' collectivewhere he works, and everybody must knowthat he is being prepared for admission to theParty.

16) The time fixed for the probation pe-riod of the candidate member is two to threeyears.17) Candidates for party membershiphave the same duties as the members of theParty. Candidates for membership take part inthe meetings of the basic organization with theright to a consultative vote; they cannot beelected to the organs of the Party, conferencesof the Party, the presidiums of basic organiza-tion meetings, and cannot give recommenda-tions for admission to the Party.

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18) The party basic organization has theduty to help the candidate to prepare himselfin order to be admitted to the Party. After thecandidate has completed the probation period,the party basic organization must immediatelytake up the question of the candidatefor partymembership up at its meetings and decide whe-ther he is worthy of being admitted as a mem-ber of the Party. When the party organizationhas proofs that the candidate is not worthy ofbeing admitted to party membership, it takesthe decision to expel him from the ranks of thecandidates for membership of the Party.19) For the expulsion of candidates forparty membership as well as for the adoptionof disciplinary measures of an educative cha-racter towards them, if they fail to carry outthe duties and the rules set by the Party, theprocedure is the same as for the members ofthe Party.

IV

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PARTY. THEINTERNAL DEMOCRACYOF THE PARTY

20 ) The guiding principle of the organiza-tional structure of the Party is democraticcentralism. This means that:a) all party leading organs are electedfrom below-up at meetings of basic organiza-tions, at general meetings of communists, atconferences and congresses;b) the leading organs are obliged to ren-der account periodically to their party organi-zations ;c) all leading organs of the Party mustlisten continuously to the opinion of lowerparty organizations and the mass of partymembers, study their experience and providetimely solutions to their problems;d) the lower party organizations must

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render account to the higher party organiza-tions fo r their work;e) decisions are taken after a free thrash-ing out of opinions, but from the moment a de-cision is taken, unanimously or by a majorityof votes, all party members are obliged to im-plement it without further discussion;f) the decisions of the higher party organsare binding on the lower organs.21) The collective method is the highestprinciple of the leading work of the Party; allparty organizations implement the principle ofcombining collective leadership with personalresponsibility. Every important question is sol-ved collectively. At the same time, it is indis-pensable that the individual, too, should playhis full role within the bounds of the tasksassigned, in conformity with the rules of collec-tive work.22) The Party of Labour of Albania isconstructed on a production and a territorialbasis. This means that:a) party basic organizations are set up inproduction enterprises, institutions, or in othercentres and places of work;b) party organizations in a given territory(in a district region or the Republic as a whole)are united in a single party organization and30

have a single leading organ; the organizationof the Party and its leading organ in a giventerritory are higher than all the organizationsand organs of the Party which are active in apart of the territory or a particular work centre:c) the Party organization which operatesin a production centre or work site, as well asits leading organ, is higher than the party orga-nizations which operate in a part or sector ofthe production centre or work site.23 ) All the organizations of the Party set-tle their local problems themselves, providedthat their solutions and decisions are not con-trary to the decisions and line of the Party.

24 ) The highest leading organ of each or-ganization of the Party is the party meeting^for the basic organizations), the conference(for the district or regional party organizations)and the congress (for the entire Party).25 ) The meeting of the basic organization,the conference or congress of the Party electsa bureau or committee, which is its executiveorgan and directs the daily work of the organi-zation;26) In elections to party organs, block vot-ing is prohibited. Voting is by secret ballot andseparate for each candidature, beginning fromthe Party basic organizations. All party mem-

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bers are guaranteed the unrestricted right topropose and criticise candidates and to demandthe withdrawal of candidatures put forward.The candidates who receive most of the votes,and more than half of the votes of those parti-cipating in the meeting, conference or congress,are considered elected.If the members of the Central Committeeof the Party of Labour of Albania and themembers of the Central Control and AuditCommissions are not elected as delegates to theParty congress, they take part in its proceed-ings with the right to a consultative vote. Ifthe members of the party committee and mem-bers of the control and audit commission of agiven district, region, military unit or detach-

ment are not elected as delegates to the confe-rence of the respective district, region, militaryunit or detachment, they take part in its pro-ceedings with the right to a consultative vote.27) In districts or regions, the respectiveparty committees call meetings of the activistsof their party organizations to discuss importantparty decisions, as well as important problemsof the party organization of the region or dist-rict. At the meetings of party activists, thecommittees regularly report to the party orga-nizations on their activity, therefore they32

should not meet merely to give formal andsolemn approval to the decisions or issues underconsideration, but to genuinely discuss andjudge them, on the basis of criticism an d self-criticism, and to ensure their best possibleimplementation in practice.28) Free and healthy discussions about theproblems of party policy in the various orga-nizations or throughout the Party is an in-violable right of every party member, whichstems from the internal democracy of the Par-ty. Only on the basis of the internal democracyof the Party can criticism an d self-criticism bedeveloped, can the activity an d initiative ofthe communists be increased, and the disciplineof the Party, which must be conscious and notmechanical, be strengthened.

However, a broad discussion of problemsof party policy, especially a discussion through-out the Party, must be organized in such away as not to allow attempts by a minority toimpose its will upon the majority of the Party,or attempts to create factional groups with theaim of breaking the unity of the Party, or at-tempts at disruption which weaken the Partyand disturb its stability.A broad discussion throughout the Party


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-can be considered necessary only in the follow-ing cases:a) when the need for this is expressed byseveral party organizations of districts or re-gions;b) when there is not stable majori ty in theCentral Committee of the Party of Labour ofAlbania on the principal problems of the policyof the Party;c) when, although the Central Committeehas a stable majori ty holding a definite stand,It considers it necessary to verify the correct-ness of its policy through a discussion withinthe Party.Only by meeting these conditions can it be-ensured that the internal democracy of theParty is effective, and that it is not abused byelements hostile to the Party, or exploited tothe detriment of the Party and the workingclass.

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V

THE SUPREME ORGANS OF THE PARTY

29) The highest organ of the Party of La-bour of Albania is the party congress.Ordinary congresses are convened once infour years as a rule.Extraordinary congresses are convened bythe Central Committee of the Party, on its owninitiative or at the request of no less than onethird of all the party members represented atthe previous congress.The convening of the party congress andits agenda are announced at least two monthsin advance.The congress.has the right to adopt deci-sions only when at least half of the party mem-bers represented at the previous congress arerepresented in it.The norms of representation and the pro-

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cedure of electing the delegates to the partycongress are decided by the Central Committeeof the Party of Labour of Albania.30 ) The congress of the Party:a) listens to, examines and approves thereports of the Central Committee of the Party,the Central Control and Audit Commission andother central organs;b) reviews and amends the program andthe Constitution of the Party;c) defines the tactical line of the Party onthe main problems of the current policy;d) elects the Central Committee of theParty of Labour of Albania and the CentralControl and Audit Commission.31) The congress of the Party fixes thenumber of the members and candidate mem-bers of the Central Committee of the Party, aswell as the number of the members of the Cen-tral Control aud Audit Commission. In casethat one or more members of the Central Com-mittee of the Party leave the Central Commit-tee, their places are filled by candidates electedat the congress.32 ) The Plenum of the Central Committeeof the Party is convened at least once in sixmonths.The candidate members of the Central36

Committee take part in the meetings of theplenums of the Central Committee with theright of consultative vote.33) The Central Committee of the Partyof Labour of Albania elects:a) the Political Bureau to direct the workof the Central Committee between the ple-nums;b) the Secretariat to direct the daily workof the Party, especially to organize the check-upon the carrying out of decisions and the selec-tion of cadres.34) In the period between two congresses,the Central Committee of the Party o f Labourof Albania directs the entire work and activityof the Party, represents the Party in its rela-tions with other parties, organizat ions and ins-titutions, organizes and leads the various insti-tutions of the Party, appoints th e editorialboards of the central organs of the Party, whichit leads directly, gives permission for the pu-blication of organs of the press by the localorganizations of the Party, deploys the forcesand means of the Party and administers thecentral treasury.

The Central Committee leads and controlsthe activity of the central organs of the people'sdemocratic power and the mass organizations;37


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35 ) The Central Committee of the Party ofLabour of Albania regularly reports to theParty organizations on its activity.36 ) In order to strengthen the leadershipan d the work of the Party, the Central Com-mittee has the right to create political sectionsand to send organizers of the Central Committeeto various sectors of the socialist constructionwhich are of a great importance to the nationaleconomy and the entire country. Basing itselfon the completion of the tasks by the politicalsections, it has the right to dissolve them or turnthem into ordinary party organs constructedon a production-territorial basis. The politicalsections work according to special ordinancesapproved by the Central Committee. The Cen-tral Committee also has the right to authorizethe setting up of party committees in regions,remote rural zones, as well as wherever it con-siders this necessary, and defines their tasks,competences, and the other rules.37) The Central Control and Audit Com-mission has these tasks:a) it checks up on the rapidity and ac-curacy of the examination of problems by theapparatus of the Central Committee of theParty and its subordinate institutions, as wellas by the local organ s of the Party; it pays close38

attention to the struggle against manifestationsof bureaucracy in the Party;b) it checks up on and examines the pro-blems of party members and candidate mem-bers who violate the Constitution and the lineof the Pa rty, pa rty discipline, state laws andcommunist morality and calls to account thosecommunists who must bear the responsibilityfor such faults;c) it examines and decides on the appeals-lodged by the members and candidate mem-bers of the Party against the decisions of Partycommittees in districts, regions, military unitsand detachments on their expulsion from thePa rty and other disciplinary measures takenagainst them; examines the letters, complaints-an d reports from communists;d) it checks up on the finances of the Cen-tral Committee of the Party and its subordinateorgans, as well as the collection and paying inof party membership dues;e) it controls and assists the control andaudit commissions of the Party in districts,,regions, military units and detachments.

39;


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VI

THE ORGANIZATIONS OF THE PARTYIN DISTRICTS AND REGIONS

38) The highest organ of the party organi-zation in the district or region is the party con-ference for the district or region, and in theperiod between two conferences, the partycommittee of the district or region. In theiractivity, these organs are guided by the deci-sions of the Party of Labour of Albania and itsleading organs.39) The ordinary party conference of thedistrict is convened by the party committeeof the district once in two years. The extraor-dinary conference is convened with the deci-sion of the district committee or at the requestof one third of all the members of the Partyorganization of that district. The norms of re-presentation at the conference of the district40

or region are decided by the committee of dis-.trict or region.The conference of the district or regionlistens to, examines and approves the reportson the activity of the committee of the districtor region and of the control an d audit commis-sion of the district or region, examines the pro-blems of the work of the Party in the district orregion, elects the committee of the district orregion and the control and audit commission ofthe district or region. The district conferenceelects the delegates to the Congress of the Partyof Labour of Albania.40 ) The conference of the district or re-gion fixes the number of the party membersand candidate members of the committee ofthe district or region, as well as the number ofthe members of the control and audi t commis-sion of the district or region.When one or more members leave thecommittee of the district, their places are filledwith candidate members elected in the confe-rence of the district.41) The committee of the district elects abureau made up of no more than thirteenmembers and of three to four candidate mem-bers. The secretaries of the party committeeare approved by the Central Committee of the41


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'Party and must be party members with a mem-bership seniority of not less than five years.42) The committee of the district or re-;gion directs the activity of all the party organi-sations in the district or region and in this wayensures the precise implementation of the line. and decisions of the Party.The committee of the district or regionorganizes and approves th e setting up of party"basic organizations, keeps the register of thecommunists, takes particular care of the de-velopment of criticism and self-criticism andthe education of the communists in the spiritof an irreconcilable stand towards shortcom-ings, organizes the study of Marxism-Leninism"by the party members and candidate members,organizes the work for the communist educa-tion of the working people, deploys the forceand funds of the Party within the district orregion and administers th e treasury of the Partyin the district or region.The committee of the district or regiondirects and controls the activity of the localorgans of state power and the mass organiza-

tions in its territory.The committee of the district reports re-gularly to the Central Committee on its acti-42

vity. It also reports regularly on its activity tothe party organizations of the district or region.43) The plenum of the committee of thedistrict or region meets at least once in fourmonths.44) The control and audit commissions indistricts and regions, military units and detach-ments have th e following tasks:a) they control the speed and accuracy inthe examination of problems in the apparatusesof the party committees of districts, regions andmilitary units and detachments and pay parti-cular attention to the struggle against manifes-tations of bureaucracy in the Party in the dis-rict, region, military unit and detachment;b) they examine and decide on the ap-peals lodged by party members and candidatemembers against whom disciplinary measuresof an educative character are taken by the par-ty basic organizations;c) they check up on the party finances inthe district or region and the collection andpaying in of the membership dues in the partybasic organization;d) from time to time they report to theCentral Control an d Audit Commission ontheir activity.

43


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VII

THE PARTY BASIC ORGANIZATIONS

45) The party basic organizations are thefoundation of the Party.The Party basic organizations are set upin factories, plants, agricultural enterprises,machine and tractor stations and all other eco-nomic enterprises, in agricultural cooperatives,detachments of the armed forces, the adminis-tration and various institutions, as well as inother work centres and residential quarterswhere there are no less than three party mem-bers.When it is considered necessary, wherethere are less than three party members, groupsof candidates, or joint groups of the Party andthe Labour Youth Union of Albania, or of theParty and the trade unions may be set up, inwhich the party members and the candidate44

members, as well as the members of the LYUAor some of the members of the organization ofthe trade unions take part. These groups are di-rected by a party member who is appointed bythe district or regional committee.The party basic organizations, the groupsof candidates, and the joint groups of the Partyand the LYUA or the trade unions are ap-proved by the district or regional committee,on which they are dependent.The meeting of the Party basic organiza-tion is convened no less frequently than oncea month.46 ) When it is considered necessary infactories, plants, economic enterprises, agricul-tural cooperatives, administrative organs andinstitutions which have a large number ofmembers an d candidates fo r party membership,on the decision of the district or region partycommittee, more than on e party basic organiza-tion may be set up. For the direction of workof the Party in the factory, plant, enterprise,agricultural cooperative, administration or ins-titution a party bureau of not more than ninemembers is elected.

In the basic organizations with a conside-rable number of communists, when it is con-sidered necessary, on the decision of the basic4Fi


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organization itself, party groups may be set upin departments, brigades, etc.It is the duty of the party group to fightto put into practice the decisions of the partybasic organization in the sector where it opera-tes, to intervene at the proper time to correctshortcomings, to improve the work and to en-sure the active participation of the communistsin carrying out the tasks of the Party.47) In special cases, when the enterprises,agricultural cooperatives, institutions etc., arewidely dispersed, with several party basic orga-nizations and with a great number of partymembers and candidates for membership, 150 and more on the approval the CentralCommittee, party committees can be set up togive leadership to the party basic organizations.Such committees may be set up in specialcases even in organizations of less that 150members and candidates for membership, butalways with the approval of the Central Com-mittee.The party committees in the enterprises,in agricultural cooperatives and institutions,consist of no more than 11 members.

The party committee of enterprises, agri-cultural cooperatives and institutions wherethere are more than 500 party members and46

candidates for membership, may, with the ap-proval of the Central Committee of the Partyof Labour of Albania, be given the rights of adistrict or regional party committee in regardto personal matters of the communists, the re-gistration of communists and admissions to the-.Party.48) The party basic organizations link theworking masses of city and countryside withthe leading organs of the Party. Their duties.are: a) to carry out political, ideological, pro-paganda and organizational work for the ap-plication of the line of the Party and its deci-sions and directives, for the education of theworking masses, as well as to direct the pressin the production centre or their work place(wall newspapers, etc.);b) to work to strengthen the party ranks, topreserve their purity, solidarity and unity, toadmit new members to the Party and to see to -the education of the new communists, to de-fend and respect the rights of the party mem-bers;c) to organize the political, ideological,educational, cultural, and vocational trainingof the party members and candidates for mem-bership, to check up on whether they have mas-


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tered the political and ideological line of theParty, and the essentials of Marxism-Leninism;the party basic organizations must becomegenuine centres producing revolutionaries an dgreat schools of communist tempering and edu-cation.d) to organize the registration of all partymembers an d candidates fo r membership whotake part in the organization and to inform th edistrict or regional party committee regularlyon their movements an d changes.e) to help the district or regional commit-tee in its work; to increase its creative self-reliance and initiative in the application of theline and decisions of the Party, and ensure thatevery communist is activated to carry out de-finite party tasks;f ) to lead the masses to take an active partin the political life of the country, to mobilizethem in all produc tion centres and work placesto fulfil the production plan in quantity and inall qualitative indices, to strengthen disciplineat work, to develop socialist em ulation , to makeevery effort for the rational utilization of allforces, facilities an d reserves existing in theirproduction centre or work place, to disseminatean d ensure general adoption of advanced ex -perience ;48

g) to fight against disorganization an dmismanagement in the economic enterprises,agricultural cooperatives and other work cen-tre's, as well as against sluggishness and bu-reaucracy in the state apparatus;h) to fight for the protection of the com-mon socialist pro pert y, and to uncover anyenemy who attempts to damage it; to makeevery effort for the max imum savings, with th eaim of ensuring the uninterrupted growth ofth e country's economy;i) to fight against backw ardness in thecountryside, for the further development andimprovement of agriculture, and for the conti-nual strengthening of its socialist base; to dis-cover and strike hard at any effort which theclass enemy makes to obstruct the economic,cultural an d social advance of the countryside;j) to listen attentively to the opinions anddemands of the masses, to fight to put theminto practice, and to inform the higher partyorgans about important problems; to be con-cerned about the improvement of the materialan d cultural conditions of the working massesand the satisfaction of their daily needs;

k) to bear full responsibility for the mili-tary training an d physical tempering of the po-49


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pulation, for the defence and strengthening ofthe Homeland;1 ) to develop criticism and self-criticismand to educate the communists in the spirit ofan irreconcilable stand towards shortcomings,to discover and eliminate these, and fight anyinfringement of laws and discipline;m) to educate the party members, thecandidates for membership, and the workingmasses, in the spirit of revolutionary vigilanceto defend the interests of the Party and stateto the end, in the spirit of upholding socialistlaw, in the spirit of irreconcilable class strug-gle against any attempt by the enemy to under-mine the socialist construction of the country;n) to organize and guide the revolutionary

education of the workers an d other workingmasses, and especially of the younger genera-tion; to lead and supervise the activity of themass organizations set up in their productioncentre or work place; to develop the role andinitiative of these organizations and to fightany attempt to command and replace them.49) The basic organizations in enterprises,agricultural cooperatives, military detach-ments, institutions and local and central admi-nistrations, etc. direct and control all the acti-50

vity and the life of the sector where theyoperate.The party organizations of the ministriesand other sectors of the administration in thecentre, in districts and regions, must work tostrengthen the state apparatus, in order tomake it less costly, more flexible, an d capableof properly responding to the problems anddemands of the base and the working people,must raise the level of the apparatus in its studyof problems and summing up the experiencegained in work, must struggle against bureau-cracy, liberalism, the desire for personal ease,sluggishness and procrastination in the workof the state 'apparatus, against the parochialspirit, against cronyism and favouritism, andany other harmful manifestation.50) To lead an d supervise the daily workof a basic organization of less than 15 partymembers and candidates fo r membership, onesecretary and one or two deputy-secretaries areelected. In basic organizations with more than15 party members an d candidates fo r member-ship, a bureau is elected, consisting of from 3to 9 members, including a secretary and one ortw o deputy-secretaries.The party basic organization set up in sec-tors, which have more than 25 party members

51


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an d candidates for membership, elect a bureauconsisting of 3 to 7 members, including a secre-tary and one or two deputy-secretaries.To lead the party group, a secretary iselected and, when the group has a large num-ber of party members and candidates fo r mem-bership, also a deputy-secretary.T he meetings fo r rendering account andthe election of secretaries, deputy-secretariesand bureaus in the party groups and basic orga-nizations, as well as fo r the election of bureausand party committees in the enterprises, coope-ratives and institutions, are held once a year.The secretaries of basic organizations, ofthe bureaus and committees of the Party inenterprises, cooperatives or inst i tutions are ap-proved by the district or regional party com-mittee. T he secretaries of party groups are ap-proved by the meeting of the party basic orga-nization. The secretaries of party basic organi-zation and the secretaries of the party groupsmust have a period of party membership of noless than one year.

52

VIIITHE PARTY AND THE LABOUR YOUTH UNION

OF ALBANIA

51) The Labour Youth Union of Albania(LYUA) carries out its activity under the leader-ship of the Party of Labour of Albania.The Central Committee of the LYUA,which is the leading organ of the youth, worksunder the direct leadership of the Central Com-mittee of the Party of Labour of Albania. Theactivity of the local organizations of the LYUAis guide d and supervised by the respectiveParty organizations.52 ) The LYUA is an active auxiliary ofthe Party in the construction of socialism an dits militant reserve.In order to carry the socialist revolutionthrough to the end the Party attaches primaryimportance to the education and the temper-

53

ing of the youth with the ideas of Marxism- 54) The members of the L Y U A , who are


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Leninism and proletarian internationalism,with the patriotic and revolutionary traditionsof the people and the youth itself, with the feel-ing of loyalty to and self-abnegation for thecause of the people, the Homeland and social-ism, with the determination and the spirit ofsacrifice to overcome every obstacle and dif-ficulty, with love for work and, especially, forwork in production, as well as for advancedscience and technique, with hatred, irreconcila-bility and the feeling of fierce struggle againstthe class enemy, internal and external, an dagainst everything evil, backward, conservativeand reactionary. The organizations of theLYUA must be active in the dissemination andimplementation of the policy and decisions ofthe Party in all the sectors of the country and,especially, wherever there is no basic organiza-tion of the Party.53) The organizations of the LYUA havethe right to examine and put before the res-pective party organizations all the problems inconnection with the work in enterprises ofproduction and service, in the agricultural co-operatives, villages, institutions, etc., in orderto help liquidate the shortcomings in their acti-vity and to improve their work.54

admitted to party membership, leave theLYUA from the date of their admission to theParty, if they do not occupy leading posts inthe organization of the LYUA.

55

task that has been entrusted to it to defend


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IX

THE PARTY BASIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THEPEOPLE'S ARMY

55) The party basic organizations in thePeople's Army carry out their activity underthe leadership of the Central Committee of theParty. They build up their entire activity an dinternal life on the basis of the Constitution, thedirectives and decisions of the Party, as well ason the basis of special directives of the CentralCommittee of the Party.The party basic organizationsin the Peo-ple's Army have the task of ensuring the com-plete implementation of the line of the Partyin the Army for the ideo-political education ofthe personnel of the People's Army, for thecontinuous improvement and perfection of itsfighting capacity and combat readiness, so thatit will always be ready to carry out the sacred56

the Homeland and the socialist victories of thepeople. They have the duty to make the Armyas little costly as possible and a real school forthe Marxist-Leninist, revolutionary temperingof the younger generation.56 ) The highest organ of the Party orga-nization in the military unit, detachment andinstitution is the party conference, and in theperiod between two conferences, the partycommittee of the military unit, detachment orinstitution, which is elected by the respectiveparty conference. The party committees in ar-my units and detachments are set up with theapproval of the Central Committee of the Par-ty. They have the same duties and rights as theparty committeesof districts and regions. Theirother special tasks are defined by special or-dinances of the Central Committee of the Party.In the military units and detachments, wherethere is more than one party basic organizationand where the criteria laid down for the settingup of party committees are not fulfilled, theconference of the Party or the general meetingof the communists elects the bureau of the Par-ty to direct the work of the Party.Th e duties and rights of this bureau are

57

defined by special ordinances of the Central committees of the districts and regions and at


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Committee of the Party.In military detachments, small units andinstitutions, party conferences are convened bythe respective party committees once a year,whereas party conferences in big units are cal-led once in two years.57) The party committees of the big mili-tary units and those of the same level reportregularly on their activity to the Central Com-mittee of the Party.It is the duty of the organs and organiza-tions of the Party in the Army to maintain closelinks with the other organs and organizationsof the Party in the territory where the Armyunit is operating. These links are maintainedthrough the participation of the delegates ofthe party organizations of the Army in the con-ferences of the Party and its activist's meetingsin the districts and regions, through the elec-tion of party members from the military unitsand detachments to the leading organs of theParty in the territory, as well as of those of theterritory to the leading organs of the Party inthe military units and detachments, throughreporting by representatives of the Party or-gans and organizations in the military unitsand detachments at the meetings of the party58

the party bureaus of enterprises, cooperativesand institutions, on the ideo-political and orga-nizational situation in the military detach-ments, as well as on the military problemsconnected with them. On their part, the partycommittees of the districts, as the highest or-gans of the Party in the districts, which areresponsible to the Central Committee for theproblems of military training and defence, havethe duty and right to check up and assist therespective party organs and basic organiza-tions, the military units and detachments onthose problemswhich are defined in the specialordinances of the Central Committee of theParty.

respective party organization (the Central


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X

58) In all the congresses, conferences andelected organs of the people's democratic statepower, the Democratic Front, the trade unions^the agricultural cooperatives and the other so-cial organizations, where there are no less than3 party members, these are organized in partygroups, which have the task of strengtheningthe influence of the Party and of carrying itspolicy among the non-party people, of streng-thening Party and state discipline, of strugglingagainst bureaucracy and checking-up on theapplication of the instructions of the Party. Inorder to carry out its activity, the group electsa secretary.59) The party groups are dependent on the

Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania,the Party Committee of the district or region).In their activity the Party groups are al-ways guided by the decisions of the leading

organs of the Party.

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XI

THE FINANCIAL MEANS OF THE PARTY

60) The financial income of the Party andits organizations is made up of the membershipdues, the income of entreprises of the Party,and other income.61) The monthly membership dues of theparty members and candidate members areset on the basis of their income; for those who get up to 400 leks 1lek;

for those who get from 401 to 550 1,5 leks;for those who get from 551 to 750 one percent;for those who get from 751 to 950 1.5 percent;for those who get from 951 to 1150 2 percent;

62

for those who get 1151 or more 2.5percent.62 ) Those admitted to the Party as candi-date members pay admission dues equal to 2per cent of their monthly income.63) For the Party members and candidate

members who have no fixed wages, as well asin other special cases, the Central Committee,through special ordinances, sets their monthlymembership dues and the dues they have to paywhen they are admitted as candidates for partymembership.

63:


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C O N T E N T

I. The Party 3II. Party members, their duties and rights 11

III. Candidates for Party membership 20IV . The structure of the Party; the internal demo-

cracy of .the Party 29V. The supreme organs of the Party 35

VI. The organizations of the Party in districts andregions 4t

VII. The Party basic organizations 44VIII. The Party and the Labour Youth Union ofAlbania 53

IX, The party basic organizations in the People'sArmy 56

X. The party groups in the elected organs of thePeople's State Power and the social organiza-tions 69

XI. The financial means of the Party .....,.1_....:< 62

Constitution of the Party of Labour of Albania

Documents

Transcript of Constitution of the Party of Labour of Albania