Prime Minister Edi Rama warned on Monday that he will undertake a legal offensive to protect his government cabinet and other constitutional positions against suspension measures from office by the Special Prosecution Office, SPAK, in response to the Constitutional Court's decision that upheld the suspension from office of the government's number 2, Belinda Balluku.
Rama also announced that SPAK's request to lift Balluk's immunity would be included in the 'Greek calendars', as according to him "there is no urgency" to address it after the Constitutional Court's decision.
Rama's statements were presented as conclusions of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group meeting on Monday, following the "reading of the Constitutional Court's public statement" on the Balluku case. The Constitutional Court's decision has not yet been fully disclosed.
"The non-delegable constitutional functions, from that of a member of the government to that of the President of the Republic and beyond, can never be suspended by anyone based on a specific name, because suspension paralyzes the function, that is, the institution that he/she leads," Rama wrote on the X platform.
Attributing the stance to the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group, he adds that this stance was prompted "by reading the public statement of the Constitutional Court, where all members of the body appear unanimous regarding the problem, but are divided on the solution."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister warns that the majority he leads will not express its opinion on SPAK's request in the Assembly to obtain authorization for a new security measure of imprisonment/house arrest against Balluk, who is accused of the criminal offense of violating equality in several tenders worth hundreds of millions of euros.
According to the Prime Minister, after Balluk's suspension from duty, SPAK "can continue the relevant investigation quite calmly, while until the legal solution is addressed, there is no urgency to address the request that SPAK made after the suspension measure was lifted."
Rama further adds that this stance does not affect SPAK's freedom to investigate, but guarantees that "the independence of the legislative and executive branches is also not affected."
The Constitutional Court on Friday decided to dismiss Rama's request against a decision of the Special Court, GJKKO, that suspended Balluku from administrative functions. The decision was made after a marathon 10-hour meeting where the judges of this court were divided 4-4 in their positions and Rama's request was considered dismissed, leaving the GJKKO decision in force.
On the other hand, since December, Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi has refused to convene the Mandates Council, the body that decides on the immunity of MPs, to review SPAK's request for Balluk's arrest. /BIRN/
