As he had warned from the cell where he is awaiting trial on charges of corruption and money laundering, Erion Veliaj sued the Constitutional Court on Monday against the decision to dismiss him, putting the Socialist Party's plans for the Tirana Municipality elections in jeopardy.
In the request sent to the Constitutional Court, Veliaj requests the annulment of the government's decision, arguing that it contradicts the constitutional principles of a fair and lawful process. Veliaj also claims that "the dismissal of a mayor is only done for serious violations of the Constitution or laws."
Veliaj was dismissed by the Council of Ministers, following a vote in the Tirana Municipal Council on September 23, where left and right representatives joined votes to dismiss him as mayor of Tirana. But according to Article 115 of the Constitution, the decision of the Council of Ministers is suspended until a decision of the Constitutional Court on Veliaj's appeal.
Lawyer Jordan Daci suggests that appealing to the Constitutional Court suspends the government's decision and Veliaj legally continues to be mayor of Tirana until the court's decision on the matter in question enters into force.
"The act of dismissal is automatically suspended," said Daci, calling the government's decision contrary to constitutional provisions.
"The Council of Ministers is not a notary of the proposal of the Municipal Council, but it has an obligation to analyze the criteria for dismissal and the legal procedure must be respected for any dismissal of mayors, such as the right to be heard, verification of serious legal violations," he added.
Prime Minister Edi Rama instructed the Socialist advisors to initiate the procedure to dismiss Veliaj with the justification of an emergency for the management of the municipality and announced Olgerta Manastirliu as the next candidate.
The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to BIRN's request by the time of publication of this article whether Veliaj's move would suspend their plans for new elections.
When asked by BIRN, the Presidency said it had not been officially notified of the vacancy in the Tirana municipality. While the Central Election Commission announced that in any case it is set in motion by a presidential decree announcing the date of new partial elections.
Veliaj entered politics after several years of activism, founding G-99, a party that failed to gain support in the 2009 elections. He then joined the Socialist Party when the latter was in opposition. He became a minister in 2013 and mayor of Tirana in 2015 — the biggest prize in Albanian politics a young politician can dream of — a powerful, coveted position with few checks and balances.
During a decade in power in Tirana, he experienced difficult moments, including several investigations where prosecutors failed to find evidence of corruption or abuse of power.
Veliaj's position in the Socialist Party as a potential successor to Rama was strengthened after the fall in 2017 of Saimir Tahiri, one of his main rivals.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, a compromising email arrived in the email of the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), containing implicating information.
Veliaj was arrested on February 10, after the Special Prosecution Office declared that it had uncovered a corruption scheme in which the municipality he headed and businessmen who won tenders in the municipality fed money to a network of companies and non-profit organizations headed by Veliaj's wife, Ajola Xoxa. After the arrest, Veliaj was initially defended by Rama and the Socialist Party, but 7 months later, at Rama's initiative, the procedure for his dismissal was initiated in the Municipal Council.
Article 115
1. The directly elected body of the local government unit may be dissolved or dismissed by the Council of Ministers for serious violations of the Constitution or laws;
2. The dissolved or dismissed body may appeal to the Constitutional Court within 15 days, and in this case the decision of the Council of Ministers is suspended;
3. In the event of failure to exercise the right to appeal within 15 days, or in the event of the Constitutional Court upholding the decision of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic shall set the date of the elections in the relevant local unit. /BIRN/
