The Council of Ministers on Tuesday put the President of the Republic in motion to announce partial elections in six municipalities of the country, including Tirana. In a facsimile published in the media, it is reported that the President is being asked to announce the date of the elections for the municipalities of Tirana, Vlora, Berat, Tepelena, Mat and Cerrik.
"In accordance with the legal obligations stemming from the Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania... the Council of Ministers has been informed of the creation of vacancies for mayor in several municipalities of the country, namely in the municipalities of Tirana, Vlora, Berat, Tepelena, Mat and Cerrik, and consequently, the date of partial elections for mayor in these municipalities is requested, within the deadlines set by the electoral law," the letter signed by the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Engjëll Agaçi, states.
The government's request for an election date comes a day after the dismissed mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, appealed from his prison cell to the Constitutional Court against the decision to dismiss him. Based on Article 115 of the Constitution, Veliaj's appeal suspends the government's decision to dismiss until a decision by the Court.
The municipalities of Mat, Tepelena and Berat have been without mayors since spring, due to their candidacy on the Socialist Party's list of deputies. The announcement of elections in these municipalities has been dragging on for months, despite the fact that the law provides for a maximum deadline of 45 days after the announcement of the termination of the mandate.
The mayor of Vlora, Ermal Dredha, resigned on September 10, while the mayor of Cerrik, Andis Hasalla, left the vacant position to become a minister.
The government's letter leaves it to President Bajram Begaj to decide whether to call elections, whether in all six municipalities or in some of them. However, while there do not appear to be any obstacles for the elections in the other five municipalities, those in Tirana – the most important – will have to await the decision of the Constitutional Court.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj was arrested on February 10 after the Special Prosecution Office announced that it had uncovered a corruption scheme in which the municipality he headed and businessmen who won tenders in the municipality were feeding money to a network of companies and non-profit organizations run by his wife, Ajola Xoxa. After his arrest, Veliaj was initially defended by Rama and the Socialist Party, but seven months later, at Rama's initiative, the Municipal Council initiated proceedings to dismiss him. Veliaj has denied the charges and has also challenged the decision to dismiss as unconstitutional. /BIRN/
