Erion Veliaj seems to be mayor only on paper, while in practice the role of mayor is being exercised by Ogerta Manastirliu. The process of approving the Tirana Municipality budget for 2026 seems to be highlighting this paradox within the socialists.
Media sources indicate that today, at 18:00, Ogerta Manastirliu will gather left-wing councilors at the headquarters of the Socialist Party, precisely to discuss the budget that is expected to be voted on Thursday. This meeting comes at a time when Mayor Erion Veliaj, who is in prison, has sent a letter to municipal councilors, requesting that his opinion be taken into consideration for the budget, otherwise the process would conflict with legal principles.
These movements show that, despite the Constitutional Court's decision, the Socialists seem to prefer Ogerta Manastirliu as mayor and not Erion Veliaj. Although the SP MP was only a candidate for mayor, after the elections were canceled and did not take place, in recent months she has chaired meetings held in Tirana regarding the budget.
Manastirliu was announced as the SP candidate for the Tirana municipal elections, after the Municipal Council proposed the dismissal of Mayor Erion Veliaj. However, although this proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers, the Constitutional Court reinstated Veliaj, nullifying the holding of early elections in the capital.
But it seems that this decision has not prevented Manastirli from appearing publicly in the role of mayor and not as an elected MP. Meanwhile, Veliaj, on the other hand, seems clearly excluded from the SP structures, which, according to recent developments, do not ask him about decision-making, despite the fact that he continues to be formally the mayor of Tirana.
