Tirana City Council to decide on Erion Veliaj’s dismissal this week

The Tirana City Council is expected to meet in the coming days to initiate procedures for dismissing Mayor Erion Veliaj, following a decision by the Socialist Party National Assembly that was supported by Socialist councilors last week.

Why is this important: Veliaj has been under arrest since February 10, held in pre-trial detention based solely on suspicions, and only last week SPAK submitted his case file to court to seek the start of the trial. While expressing his frustration with the way in which the prosecution has dealt with the Mayor, at the Socialist Party’s National Assembly, Prime Minister Edi Rama argued that the capital cannot remain indefinitely under the leadership of a deputy mayor with delegated authority and called for early elections. It was this decision that set in motion the Tirana City Council. Rama proposed Ogerta Manastirliu as the Socialist candidate.

Context: Socialist councilors say their request is based on the Law on Local Self-Government, which provides for the dismissal of a mayor after three uninterrupted months of absence from duty. They stress that Veliaj has been absent since February 10 due to the ongoing criminal process and the denial of his right to a trial in freedom.

They argue that Tirana — a city undergoing rapid economic and social development — needs an elected mayor to ensure continuity of governance. The move, they underline, “should not be seen as an acknowledgment of SPAK’s findings but as a decision made in the interest of citizens.”

Erion Veliaj’s response:
In a public letter, Veliaj asked to be present at the upcoming council session, stating:

“The cause of my absence is not the Chairman of the Socialist Party, not the Socialist Party, not you councilors, but a judicial decision that has unjustly interrupted a constitutional mandate.”

He pledged to challenge any dismissal decision in all judicial instances, including the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that “this crisis created by the court cannot be resolved by committing yet another constitutional violation.”

Note: The decision to remove Veliaj — one of Albania’s most electorally successful and popular mayors — amid an ongoing SPAK investigation has reignited debate about the impartiality and consistency of the justice system. This controversy was accentuated further by a decision of the Special Court (GJKKO) that took place always simultaneously to the decision about Veliaj. In a decision that smacked of double standards the Special Court decided to release former judge Pajtime Fetahu from prison and place her under house arrest, despite a file that contains explosive allegations.

According to the case file brought by SPAK, the judge in question is accused of collaborating with one of Elbasan’s most notorious organized crime gangs, which was involved in trafficking of tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe, murders, assassinations, and a string of other offences. The SPAK file emphasized that the judge was accused of leaking secret documents, taking bribes worth thousands of euros, but also of using her position to secure lenient treatment for the representatives of the organized crime in question. Most shockingly, investigators say she demanded from the head of the same criminal group to target one of Albania’s best known investigative journalist, Saimir Kodra, host of the popular program Stop, who had reported on the judge’s corrupt rulings. The accusations stemmed from the judge’s communications on a SkyEcc phone which was gifted to her by the crime gang.

The fact that a judge facing such grave accusations is granted a far more lenient measure than an elected official like Veliaj who remains behind bars on accusations for which the charges are still to be proven, has raised many an eyebrow and reignited accusations of “double standards” where the justice system treats its own with far greater leniency than politicians, using the latter as symbols of its anti-corruption record. This perceived inconsistency risks undermining public confidence in the very reform meant to deliver equality before the law.

Next steps: The City Council will meet next week to vote on whether to formally propose Veliaj’s dismissal to the Council of Ministers, paving the way for early elections in Tirana.