Will Veliaj hit Rama in the Constitutional Court?

2025-09-12 19:56:00, Aktualitet CNA

Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Thursday, September 11, during his speech at the Socialist Party Assembly, that the Tirana Municipal Council will begin the dismissal procedure against the arrested mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj.

"Tirana has great and countless tasks to do day and night. I do not take away any credit from the incumbent mayor, for what she has done in these 7 months of total institutional anomalies unprecedented for the capital. On the contrary, I thank her for her dedication, but today we must make a decision, a political decision, to pave the way for elections for a new mayor in Tirana.

Our representatives in the municipal council must put into motion the legal mechanism for the dismissal of the elected mayor, despite the fact that the legal framework leaves much to be desired in the case when the mayor does not appear for office, not because he will not appear, but because he is prevented from doing so by pre-trial detention.

"It is not a proposal that I make lightly, so I understand all those who may not feel good about making such a decision, but Tirana cannot rise and fall endlessly like a headless body and the citizens of Tirana should not wait another 7 days without knowing what will happen to the leadership of the Municipality of Tirana," said Rama.

Law No. 139/2015 on Local Self-Government, Article 62, provides provisions on when a mayor is dismissed.

"The mayor is dismissed by decision of the Council of Ministers in cases where:
a) he commits serious violations of the Constitution or laws;
b) he is convicted of committing a criminal offense, by a final decision, by the court;
c) he is proposed for dismissal by the relevant municipal council for failure to appear for duty for an uninterrupted period of 3 months."

In this case, it seems to be related to point C of the article.

Will Veliaj hit Rama in the Constitutional Court?

Article 115, point 2

While Article 115, point 2 states that:

The dissolved or dismissed body may appeal to the Constitutional Court within
15 days, and in this case the decision of the Council of Ministers
is suspended.

Based on the law, the Municipal Council must first convene, which takes the first step through dismissal and delegates it to the Prime Minister.

Then, it is the Government that requests the dismissal and notifies the President, who must announce the date of the elections within 8 hours and no later than 30-45 days from the day of their announcement./CNA