In its opinion, the Venice Commission underlined that if the Constitution proclaims the power of parliament to decide (i.e. to vote) on a certain matter, the content of such vote must be freely determined by each MP alone, and cannot be dictated.

The Venice Commission said in a press release that upon a request forwarded by the Speaker of the Assembly of Albania, the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission) adopted its opinion on implementation by parliament of Albania’s Constitutional Court decisions.

The Commission confirmed that Albania’s parliament does not have to vote in a prescribed way. Instead, MPs have the freedom to vote according to their own beliefs, a principle supported by the Albanian Constitutional Court’s 2011 ruling. The Venice Commission further emphasized that the political mandate of any MP is inviolable, meaning that lawmakers cannot be legally forced to vote in a specific manner.

The Assembly of Albania recognized the binding nature of the Constitutional Court decisions, but called for the Commission’s opinion regarding enforcement of this obligation. The Venice Commission did not comment or interpret certain decisions of the Constitutional Court.

In its review, the Venice Commission also noted that parliament can only refer an MP’s mandate to the Constitutional Court under specific conditions, such as when an MP uses public assets for personal gain. In other cases, parliament is responsible for resolving the matter on its own.

The Commission reminded that the Constitutional Court’s role is to interpret the law, not to create new laws, and that constitutional amendments made by parliament should be respected to avoid perceptions of judicial overreach.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama shared today in the social media some of the answers given by the citizens to the questions put in the National Consultation questionnaire on the punishment of perpetrators for repeated serious crimes.

“Here are some answers of citizens to the question whether Albania should toughen the punishment of perpetrators in committing repeated serious crimes against the person, doubling the sentence for them and removing the right to brief judgment for perpetrators of domestic violence and crimes against children “, says Rama.

Many citizens say that the punishment for them should be toughened, especially for repeated offenders and perpetrators of family and children.

Rama said that, “435,214 citizens have been involved so far in the National Consultation process, giving their opinions through the online platform www.keshillimikombetar.al or have returned by mail the completed questionnaires”.

On January 5 this year, PM Rama announced the launch of the National Consultation process, through which citizens will express their views on issues related to the economy, work, family, justice, the fight against crime, or the process of the country’s European integration. /a.a/p.s./

During a press conference after the government meeting, Rama said that he would like to have the opinion of every Albanian on issues of strategic significance. Therefore, the government has prepared a questionnaire for the people and that would be a kind of assembly with the people.

“It’s high time to leave behind the political quarrels and take steps forward through putting heads together and consulting with one another on decisions of political, economic and social significance”, said PM Rama.

Further on, the prime minister extended an appeal to all the people saying, “Let’s listen to one another as inhabitants of this blessed country and although there are many things that divide us, still it’s the red and black flag and the future of the children that unites us”.

PM Rama said that the questions are on issues like the EU integration and whether we should separate from North Macedonia so that to move ahead or not given that Bulgaria has put a veto on North Macedonia.

Further on, PM Rama said that the “Open Balkan” will be another question of the questionnaire. People will be invited to say whether it is beneficiary for them./p.s./

The Venice Commission responded regarding three questions raised by Albania’s Constitutional Court.

Regarding the first question whether Article 131, point 1, letter “e” of the Constitution could be interpreted as the Constitutional Court having jurisdiction to decide on the constitutionality of the election, the Venice Commission notes that it “considers the word ‘functionaries’ in Article 131 (1) e) as having the same meaning as persons exercising public function. However, this does not imply ipso iure that the Constitutional Court is competent to address electoral disputes in the field.”

In its reply to the second question: Given that the principles of periodicity of local elections and political pluralism are provided as fundamental principles, what would be the interrelation between them in a situation where there is a risk of violation of each of these principles and which one could prevail over the other, the Venice Commission notes that “, the principles of periodicity of elections and of political pluralism are unlikely to conflict per se one with each other since they are expressed in very different types of rules. Pluralism may be a legitimate aim for interfering with periodicity, but for that aim to prevail, the interference should have a legal basis and be proportionate. Parliament has a wide margin of appreciation to decide on providing a legal basis for postponing elections; in the absence of such a basis, the Constitutional Court could consider the postponement as unconstitutional.”

Regarding the third question as following: In a situation of legal uncertainty climate, did the actions of public authorities and political parties violate the voters’ right to have meaningful choice? Should they have ensured voters’ highest interest? The Commission replies: “The Code underlines that “political parties precisely aim to participate in the political process, mainly presenting candidates to elections. It however does not mean that they have such an obligation. Political parties are therefore private associations representing their members’ views, without the obligation to represent a part of the society and without the obligation to take part in elections, despite this may be one of their main objectives. Boycotting may be therefore a means of political activity, among others.”

“It therefore remains the co-responsibility of the public authorities and the whole political spectrum to restore trust in the Albanian institutions and in electoral processes. This implies the responsibility of all these stakeholders to promote political dialogue among all political forces as well as among national institutions, such as the Central Election Commission, inter alia. This also implies restoring a meaningful choice for voters. All these elements are sine qua non, but non-exclusive, preconditions to democratic elections,” the Venice Commission says in its opinion.

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While the Venice Commission is expected to issue an opinion on his dismissal from office, President Meta denied reports that the Commission will render its opinion on October 14, saying “such a case doesn’t exist, but it is just a politically motivated issue.”

“It is just a politically motivated issue and for that matter I am pretty calm and not worried and I am proud that throughout my tenure in office I have upheld the Constitution that has been attacked in the most hostile, but also treacherous way by internal and international factors in order to plunge Albania into a pretty undesirable situation today regarding the EU integration processes,” Meta stated.

“The EU accession talks should have started by now if they were to heed to the President’s proposals and the President’s efforts over the years to overcome the well-structured crisis, namely the illegal local elections and the criminal capture of the Constitutional Court at any cost, as the Venice Commission itself has already found in the past,” he said.

Asked whether local elections will be held in five municipalities across the country to elect new mayors, the head of state said that a Constitutional Court ruling on 2019 local elections was expected for years now.

President Meta declined to comment on recent meetings being held by the former PM Sali Berisha and his supporters, saying he doesn’t want to comment on the internal developments in any political party

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