TIRANA, June 13/ATA/-The president’s office said today afternoon that President Ilir Meta’s decree on cancelling June 30 municipal election date is mandatory and all the institutions have to implement it because it is based on the Constitution.
The president’s Legal Advisor Bledar Dervishaj called on the political sides during a press conference on Thursday to jointly find a solution to the crisis.
“Instead of discussing on the legal arguments on which the president was based and instead of being a time of reflection or discussing a solution to the crisis, today, beyond this expectation, there were poured insults against the president’s institution. This rhetoric does not serve to resolve the crisis and peace in the country,” said Dervishaj.
The President’s Legal Advisor stated that the presidential decrees should not be discussed or commented, but can only be appealed to the Constitutional Court. The Central Election Commission has no legal right to vote or to consider the decrees of the President of the Republic. “No one except the Constitutional Court questions the validity of the decree. The CEC is obliged to enforce the decree, “he said.
Dervishaj said that the president’s act is taken so that to prevent any dangerous clash on June 30. He said that the president guarantees the citizens the right to vote free and without any risk in another date later than June 30.
The president has also begun the process of consultation with all the political parties on setting the election date. And the president will issue a decree on the new election date. The actual municipal councils will exercise their functions until creation of the new councils. This is not an extension of their mandate, but an obligation defined in the law on local governance, said Dervishaj.
President Meta has extended an invitation to Socialist Party Chairman Edi Rama and Chairman of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha for talks.
“The President of the Republic reiterates the call on all political parties to use this time to reflect and respond to the President’s call for dialogue to find a solution to the crisis, including an agreement on a new election date. The president re-guarantees that he is ready to make all the important decisions that will dictate the situation in accordance with the competencies that the Constitution has determined,” emphasized Dervishaj./j.p/p.s./
