TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, July 12 – The Legal Commission of Albania’s parliament decided Monday to turn down another Supreme Court candidate proposed by the country’s president.
Vexhi Mucmataj was considered not to be an appropriate candidate as he had also served as an investigator during the former communist regime, having dealt with political cases. Members of the commission also said in their decision that he had not been fully transparent on his personal bank accounts and properties.
Mucmataj is the third candidate proposed by President Bamir Topi this spring that is turned down by the Democratic Party-run parliament.
Only the lawmakers of the governing Democrats have voted on these cases. Their ally, the Socialist Movement for Integration voted in favor while the opposition Socialist lawmakers were not present at the debate. They have decided not to take part at the voting session.
Last week the parliament voted down another candidate and the same done two months ago for one for the Constitutional Court.
The president has had to replace three judges at the Supreme Court and six at the Constitutional Court. Until now he has succeeded with one at the Supreme Court and two at the Constitutional Court out of six he had sent to the parliament.
That shows the conflict the president has with the government and the governing Democrats.
Speaking about that last week the president responded the same way, this time in words only. He highly considered the detailed and improved checking the parliament makes to the candidates he sends to them pledging to do the same kind of checking for the candidates that the parliament, or the government will send to him.
That has been a friction since the start of taking the post three years ago, though he was elected as the country’s president from the governing Democrats.
