Also, present at the meeting is MP Ogerta Manastirliu, who has been nominated by the Socialist Party leader Edi Rama as the party’s candidate for the Municipality of Tirana.
The meeting, taking place at the Socialist Party headquarters, is focused on preparations for the upcoming by-election in Tirana, following Tuesday afternoon’s decision by the Tirana Municipal Council to propose the dismissal of Mayor Erion Veliaj due to a three-month absence from duty.

During his address, Socialist Party leader Edi Rama stressed that it is now time to fill the gap left in Tirana after the arrest of Mayor Erion Veliaj.

“Without an elected mayor in office, we were forced to take a necessary, though reluctant, measure regarding Erion Veliaj—one that was essential for the future of Albania’s capital,” Rama remarked.
“As the party responsible for keeping things running smoothly in the country, our main focus is to quickly fill the widening and harmful gap in leadership at the helm of Tirana’s municipality,” Rama said.
“Tirana can’t keep going on without a leader, and the people can’t keep living with a mayor’s office that has no one in charge. Without an elected mayor, the city can’t be properly led into the future,” Rama added.

“Our focus as the Socialist Party today, alongside all other tasks, is to start working on the upcoming elections in Tirana. With the right candidate, proper organization, and strong support, we will achieve the results needed to give Albania’s driving force—the capital—the momentum it needs for Tirana 2030 within Albania 2030,” Rama added.

“I am pleased to note—as has been widely recognized—that Ogerta’s candidacy has received the full support of our broad political family. There is a shared appreciation for her as our candidate for Tirana, and broad consensus that the time has come for her to lead the capital, bringing the ambition and composure that have consistently defined her performance in every role she has held,” Rama emphasized.
“The support of the Socialist Party for Ogerta is so strong that it hardly matters who her opponents in this race will be. They may enter the race, but they will do so already on the path to defeat—and will leave it even more clearly so. What truly matters, as confirmed by our latest polling, is that the vast majority of citizens are not concerned who will run against the Socialist Party candidate. They are focused, and rightly so, on the real challenges facing our capital—challenges that demand concrete solutions and strong leadership from the municipality of Tirana.”

“The council yesterday approved the dismissal of the mayor, who has been absent for seven months, in order to facilitate new elections. Much has been said and speculated regarding this decision; however, it is not worthwhile to engage with those who are misguided, nor with those who characterize it as a dictatorship simply because the parliamentary majority was compelled to vote on a program after being obstructed through notorious tactics involving shouting and physical intimidation. Likewise, it is unnecessary to respond to those who, for the third consecutive time, failed to unseat Erion through their media caricatures and now boast over an anonymous letter from a constrained chairman,” Rama stated.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Edi Rama held a meeting with the deputy mayors of the capital, who will be responsible for managing the city until the upcoming local byelection.
/sm/