TIRANA, June 8 – The Constitutional Court decided not to consider a request by the Democratic Party seeking to determine whether the mandate of Deputy Parliament Speaker Valentina Leskaj is incompatible with the country’s constitution.
The court said on Wednesday it lacked enough evidence to consider the case.
The opposition Democrats decided to take the matter to the Constitutional Court over allegations that family members of the Socialist MP Leskaj have benefited public funds from various tenders and contracts.
Following opposition’s accusations, Leskaj in an earlier letter addressed to Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta had expressed her availability for having her mandate reviewed by the Constitutional Court.
Last month, the Constitutional Court stripped Koà§o Kokà«dhima, a senior Socialist lawmaker, of his parliamentary mandate on conflict of interest grounds.
The opposition Democrats had accused Kokà«dhima of benefiting public funds from his internet service provider after he was elected MP for the Socialist Party in 2013.
The Constitutional Court is expected to also rule on the mandate of another Socialist MP Rakip Suli over similar allegations.
The examination of the mandates of the three Socialist MPs was set as a key condition by the opposition a few months ago for participating in justice reform negotiations.
