Constitutional Court to review Erion Veliaj’s appeals on dismissal and Tirana election decree
The Constitutional Court will hold a public session on Friday, October 31, to review two appeals filed by Erion Veliaj, the jailed mayor of Tirana.
Why is this important: Veliaj is challenging both the Council of Ministers’ decision to dismiss him—issued in late September upon proposal by the Tirana Municipal Council—and the presidential decree setting the date for partial elections in Tirana. The mayor argues his dismissal was unconstitutional since his absence from office for over three months was due to his pretrial detention, an “objective reason” that, he claims, cannot justify removal from office. Just a week after the dismissal decree, Veliaj filed a second appeal, arguing that the president should have waited for the Constitutional Court’s ruling before calling new elections.
Context: Veliaj has requested to attend the October 31 session in person. The court has formally notified the Directorate of Prisons to arrange his transport, as well as the Special Prosecution (SPAK), which oversees the corruption case that led to his detention.
Earlier this month, on October 9, the Constitutional Court—chaired by Holta Zaçaj—temporarily suspended the presidential decree on the Tirana elections, ruling that enforcing it before reviewing the legality of Veliaj’s dismissal would cause “irreparable harm” to the constitutional rights of an elected local official.
The judges based their decision on Article 45 of the law governing the Court, which allows suspension of an act if its implementation could produce irreversible consequences for public or individual interests.
The court found that proceeding with elections before determining whether the dismissal was lawful would violate Veliaj’s constitutional rights and set a “dangerous precedent” for local government institutions.
What else: As a result, the election process for the Tirana Municipality is officially suspended until the Constitutional Court issues a final ruling on the legitimacy of the government’s dismissal decision.
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