The President of the Republic has decreed November 9th for the holding of partial elections in the Municipality of Tirana. This decision comes while the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on Erion Veliaj's appeal against the decision of the Municipal Council to dismiss him.
Legal dimension
According to Article 115 of the Constitution and the consolidated practice of the Constitutional Court, the appeal has an absolute suspensive effect. This means that the decision of the Municipal Council to dismiss Veliaj does not produce consequences until a final decision. In this sense, the President's decree is based on an act that is not yet final, which makes it constitutionally vulnerable.
If the Constitutional Court were to rule in favor of Veliaj's appeal, the process announced for November 9 would automatically fall through, introducing the system into a new institutional conflict.
The political dimension
The irony is that Rama is rushing to take Tirana to the polls, while the only institution that has the final say – the Constitutional Court – has not yet spoken. The President, instead of waiting for the decision, becomes part of this political race by announcing the election date on a shaky legal basis. If until yesterday the announcement of the elections was seen as a solemn and indisputable act of the Head of State, today the decree of November 9 sounds more like a political move than a constitutional obligation.
In practice, the situation has produced an absurdity: the citizens of Tirana are invited to prepare for elections, while their dismissed mayor continues to formally remain in office, awaiting the final decision of the Constitutional Court.
