Taken from Kafe.al
Erion Veliaj is today at the center of a political and legal battle that has attracted the attention of public opinion. Some of the most serious charges that an elected official in the Republic of Albania can face have been brought against him. These are charges that, if only part of them is proven in court, lead to a sentence that could exceed 15 years in prison. This is Veliaj's criminal reality.
But beyond this harsh reality, there is another aspect, less visible, but politically very important: the way in which his dismissal is being organized. And here lies the paradox: regardless of what he may have done, Veliaj is unfortunately right when he complains about the way in which his position is being taken away.
In any democracy, elected officials have a double protection: from the law and from the vote of the citizens. A mayor is not simply a director of administration, but an official who has earned the trust of hundreds of thousands of citizens. For this reason, his dismissal must be done with very clear criteria and with full respect for the law.
In Veliaj's case, this standard was not respected. He was absent from duty for more than three months, which according to the law constitutes grounds for dismissal. But this dismissal did not occur on May 10, the date when the legal deadline expired. It occurred four months later, at the end of September, after a simple party meeting where the decision was made by the autocrat Edi Rama and imposed on the Municipal Council.
This delay, this selective choice to use the law when it interests politics, is the reason why Veliaj is right to say that the process is unfair. Because it is no longer the law that is dismissing him, but a political decision made in the offices of the SP headquarters.
Another element that shows that Veliaj is fighting a bigger battle than the one inside Albania is the letter he sent to the City Council to be heard on the day of his dismissal. It was not a letter to save his post, because he knew the outcome was predetermined. It was a letter to create the basis for a future appeal to the Strasbourg Court.
This is not the first time that Albania has faced Strasbourg decisions that expose the Albanian state. Every decision taken outside the criteria of the law, every decision imposed politically and not procedurally, subsequently turns into a financial and moral cost for the country. And in this case, the chances are that Veliaj, no matter how attacked on the domestic level, will emerge victorious in the international battle.
One of the most painful elements of this process is the conduct of socialist councilors in the Tirana Municipal Council. Most of them are there thanks to Veliaj: he elected them, he included them in the lists, he gave them a political career. Today, they will bow their heads and vote against the man who brought them there.
This is an indicator of a burnt-out political class, without integrity, without ideas, without morals - unfortunately, they are mostly young. They are simply soldiers who follow the party's orders, even when they know that the decision is unjust. This phenomenon is not new in Albanian politics, but the Veliaj case makes it more visible than ever before: Albania has produced a new political elite that does not care about itself or its citizens, but only about its authoritarian leaders.
The biggest question is: what should the opposition do in the City Council?
At first glance, it is tempting for the opposition to participate and vote to dismiss Veliaj. This would seem like a political victory over a strong opponent. But in reality, this is a trap for Rama.
The reasons are clear:
1. Violation of the law by the majority, the Opposition has been demanding his dismissal for months, but that request was ignored. Participating in the vote now means legitimizing the violation and selectivity of power.
2. Rama's game, the Prime Minister has designed this process to politically kill Veliaj and come out clean himself. The participation of the opposition would make this scheme more credible.
3. By-elections, the Opposition should think about the future. By-elections in Tirana are close. An open clash between Rama and Veliaj would harm the Prime Minister more than the former mayor. In this sense, the opposition benefits more by not participating, letting the SP sink its own man.
If the opposition boycotts, it sends several clear messages to the prisoner who still has people, structures and loyalists outside:
• It does not become part of Rama's games.
• It does not legitimize a politically manipulated process.
• It preserves its capital for the next elections.
Veliaj is politically ruined and legally sunk. But the way he is being dismissed makes the burden heavier for Rama than for him. Because at the end of the day, history will remember this process not as “Veliaj’s dismissal,” but as a unilateral act by the prime minister who used his power to eliminate an internal rival.
Veliaj may have committed serious violations. He may be guilty of many of the charges against him. But that does not justify his dismissal being carried out outside the law, selectively and by political decision. Democracy does not work like that.
If the opposition is smart, it should understand this game and not become part of it. Veliaj's dismissal is inevitable. But the way this dismissal happens will determine not only his fate, but also the image of Albanian democracy, which is being undermined by an autocrat.
Therefore, today, in this great irony of history, Veliaj is unfortunately and dramatically right.
