In a televised interview, Veliaj underlined that the new head of state should have a consolidated career and act as a unifier of the nation.

“So far the process has been very open to some criteria that would make the eventual candidate acceptable. Although the SP has the required number of votes, and the Socialists feel that the time has come for a socialist president, given that the people have voted enough deputies for this will, yet this is not what the SP wants to achieve. For the first time we have set internal rules: so he will not be either a SP deputy or an active SP politician. If someone comes forward, either as an independent or with different convictions from ours, but is not active in politics and wants to serve in this position – he/she can come from the Academia, diplomacy, the Armed Forces – “So a candidate a consolidated career as a professional would be in the interest of Albania,” said Veliaj.
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