The citizens of Tirana are expected to head to the ballot boxes in the coming months to elect a new mayor, following the recent blows that Erion Veliaj received in the Municipal Council and then in the Council of Ministers. The Socialist Party has started work, with Ogerta Manastirliu as the next name to seek the capital's chair. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama has held meetings with all socialists, giving them instructions for the next battle.
While the SP is clear and organized, the Democratic Party seems to be stuck at a crossroads, and according to them, the main reason is the lack of a candidate name that is universally accepted by the opposition spectrum.
But this seems more of an excuse, considering that this is a political force whose final candidates are selected by the mayor, even when competitions such as primaries are organized. Meanwhile, the rhetoric used by some DP representatives in public creates the impression that the DP is interested in postponing the time of a second confrontation with the SP within the year, based on the fear of another defeat, very close to that of May 11.
This fear has several reasons. First, the DP just suffered a deep defeat, handing Rama a fourth term with a super-government. Add to this the lack of analysis and failure to take responsibility for the next failures, another defeat in the Tirana Municipality would put the spotlight on the many problems that the DP has in its inability to be a real alternative.
Therefore, since the elections cannot be completely avoided, the opposition likely intends to postpone them as long as possible. And this is intended to be achieved through the lawsuit that Veliaj may file against the decisions for his dismissal in the Constitutional Court. This would lead to another legal impasse that would take a long time until the final solution.
Seeing this as an opportunity, out of fear of another defeat, the DP representatives are using a rhetoric in public that encourages Veliaj to run for the Constitutional Court. Perhaps this is the reason why they are not too concerned about the competitor they will field against Manastirliu.
It is enough to see how Sali Berisha, the day after the Municipal Council meeting that dismissed Veliaj, held a press conference where he called on the mayor's lawyers to follow the legal path, under the pretext that in this way they would not only protect Veliaj but also the Constitution.
"What is happening? Erion Veliaj is being asked in an ultimatum not to go to the Constitutional Court to get out of prison, to follow the investigations freely and with ease. I call on his lawyers not to remain silent, because they are not only defending Erion Veliaj, but they are upholding constitutional principles and the European Charter of Local Self-Government. They are upholding legal security without which there is no rule of law," Berisha said.
Meanwhile, MP Belind Këlliçi, in his media appearances, expresses it in a different way, claiming that if the partial local elections are held within 45 days, then there is an agreement between Rama and Veliaj that the latter will not appeal the dismissal decision and will benefit from "house arrest."
"If the elections are held within 45 days, after the political decree by the president, in my judgment an agreement has been reached between Rama and Veliaj that he will not appeal the dismissal decision and will be placed under house arrest. I have this information from informal sources, I cannot confirm it, but there is a rumor that does not lead to the Constitutional Court", said Këlliçi.
So, the arguments of the opposition representatives give the impression that they are eagerly awaiting a complaint by Veliaj to the Constitutional Court, rather than being interested in the elections. Because if it were otherwise, the opposition would not be very interested in the procedure to throw out of office one of the people who, in addition to accusing him of being one of the "demons" of corruption, but who also defeated them in three elections as they have claimed with "electoral massacres". Ultimately, the procedure is a matter of justice and the opposition needs the political capital that comes from his dismissal.
But this would only be possible with an opposition that has the courage to regenerate and emerge as a real alternative to the citizens, proposing the name of a potential candidate in the month when Veliaj went to prison. Not with a political force that continues to go from loss to loss, and that now fears another loss within the year.
