Denada Jushi
Tirana remains in the hands of Erion Veliaj again. This is what the Constitutional Court ruled today with 5 votes in favor and 3 votes against, considering the dismissal by the Municipal Council and the subsequent decision of the Council of Ministers invalid.
Erion Veliaj, in addition to managing to remain in office, has also managed to "defeat" his party and associates, whom he considered as political backroom in the war against the vote.
A hearing was held on Friday, where the Constitutional Court heard from all parties. One of the best-prepared hearings by all parties.
Erion Veliaj appeared prepared in his 9 minutes, which he defined as 9 months of preparation for 9 minutes (with the Court's consensus, approximately 12 minutes were left available for his defense).
"I didn't go to work, not because I didn't want to, but because I wasn't allowed to," he said.
On the other hand, the defense from the Presidency and the Government was framed under the argument that they only followed the law on this matter.
Veliaj's defense argued that Article 62, point c, of the Law on Local Government cannot be used as a basis for dismissing a mayor, as Article 115 of the Constitution stipulates that the government can only make such a decision for serious violations of the Constitution or laws.
Jordan Daci, who withdrew a few days ago from defending Mr. Veliaj, had warned that this would be the Court's decision, because in similar cases before, it had acted to the same standard.
Erion Veliaj was arrested in his office on February 10, 2025, and is facing a series of corruption charges in 9 cases, 5 charges in total: corruption, abuse of office, money laundering, failure to declare assets, and bringing prohibited items into the cell.
Veliaj, along with Balluk, are the highest-ranking officials facing justice, beyond former minister Ahmetaj, who still remains at large.
Friday was Veliaj's first public appearance since his arrest, and now with his reconfirmation in office, it remains to be seen what he will decide next as mayor.
Ogerta Manastirliu, Florjan Binaj and Arlind Qori, despite the unofficial start of their electoral campaigns, will remain to try their "fate" in 2027. /acqj.al
