Erion Veliaj appeals dismissal to Constitutional Court, election date for Tirana put on hold

Former Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court challenging the September 25 decision of the Council of Ministers that dismissed him from office.

Why is this important: Veliaj’s move prevents the President from setting a date for partial elections in Tirana until the Constitutional Court decides whether the dismissal was legal.

Context: In his filing, Veliaj calls the decision unlawful and unconstitutional, arguing that Article 62 — which was cited in the proposal for his dismissal on the grounds that he had not appeared at work for three months — cannot replace Article 115 of the Constitution.

According to the former mayor, dismissal by the Council of Ministers can only be made for “serious violations of the Constitution or the law.”

“Any attempt to read Article 62 of the law ‘On Local Self-Government’ as creating a new category of dismissal outside the constitutional framework would, in itself, be an interpretation that cannot be made, because it is an unconstitutional interpretation.”

Veliaj further argues that his absence from work was due to an “objective impossibility,” since he has been in pretrial detention in Durrës since February 10, and that continuity of the mayor’s office was guaranteed by appointing the Deputy Mayor to exercise mayoral powers.

“In the case of the Mayor of Tirana, the absence was the result of a security measure — an objective impossibility — and moreover, continuity of the office was ensured… so, at its core there was no serious violation.”

He claims the entire procedure followed for his dismissal is “baseless” and attempts to create a competence that does not exist:

“In the absence of a constitutional authorization, the legislator cannot add on its own other cases of dismissal that are not included in this provision and that the Constitution has not authorized the legislator to create.”

Veliaj warns that accepting the dismissal would create a dangerous precedent:

“A dangerous precedent would be created: every subsequent legal provision, instead of being applied in accordance with the Constitution, could be used as a basis to bypass or relativize constitutional provisions.”

What’s next: The Constitutional Court has appointed Judge Sonila Bejtja as rapporteur. She will review whether Veliaj’s appeal meets the legal criteria to proceed to a plenary session.

Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers has already notified the State Election Commissioner about the dismissal and the vacancy in Tirana’s city hall.