TIRANA, June 27 – The amendment of Albania’s Constitution over the much-rumored judiciary reform has become the hottest political topic in the country. While the opposition has vetoed some of the bills approved in principle by the ruling majority, several Socialist Party MPs have decided to launch an initiative of their own calling for additional amendments to the Constitution that would allow the election of the country’s president by popular vote.
Ben Blushi, a former Socialist minister of education and challenger to Prime Minister Edi Rama and defiant Socialist Party MP Mimoza Hafizi have called for two important amendments to the country’s Constitution. Blushi and Hafizi’s official initiative has been backed up by 10 other members of parliament from the left and the right wings. “With the first Constitutional amendment we want to give the right of electing the country’s President to the people,” MPs explained in an official document obtained by Tirana Times.
The MPs who have signed the initiative argue that a president elected by popular vote instead of the parliament will be unbiased and independent and will represent the unity of the people while exercising the most important constitutional duties.
MP Hafizi said that the proposed constitutional changes do not aim to amend the competences of the head of state rather than change the election method.
Albania’s president is elected in the 140-seat parliament with three-fifth of the votes in the first three rounds or a simple majority of 71 votes in the next two rounds.
Current president Bujar Nishani’s five-year mandate expires in July 2017 and the new president is expected to be elected by the current Parliament ahead of the June 2017 general elections.
The second constitutional amendment required by MPs is giving voters the right to change the constitution. According to MP Mimoza Hafizi, currently people are indirectly entitled to change the Constitution only if 94 MPs or 2/3 of the Assembly vote in favor. “It is very unlikely for 94 MPs to agree. Even when they do, they’d rather change the Constitution on their own without bothering to ask the people. We want this quorum to be reduced to 56 MPs,” Hafizi said.
When asked about the justice reform, Hafizi said the Albanian people find it very hard to be part of the judicial process and that is why the Constitutional amendments will give the Albanian people the right to have a say on reforms.
The initiative for constitutional amendments has been signed by SP MPs Ben Blushi, Arta Dade and Mimoza Hafizi with the collaboration of other right wing and independent MPs such as Eduard Selami, Luljeta Arapi, Nard Ndoka, Tahir Muhedini, Vangjel Dule, Agron Duka and Dashamir Shehi.
The initiative however sparked anger among other members of parliament. A representative of Albania’s Party for Justice Integrity and Unity (PJIU), representing the Cham-Albanian community expelled from Greece during WWII , accused the initiating MPs of chronic copycat, arguing that their proposals are a copy of recommendations delivered earlier by PJIU. MP Mesila Doda accused Blushi and Hafizi of stealing the PJIU proposal but Hafizi responded to the statement arguing that “an opinion cannot be called an initiative for Constitutional amendments.”
Blushi hinted at the initiative last week when he told parliament that constitutional changes are needed so that the people can have the right to elect their President.
The country’s main political parties are currently quarreling about draft constitutional amendments that pave the way for the establishment of new judicial institutions guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary from politics.
The justice reform that the majority hopes to pass by mid-July is a precondition for Albania to open EU accession talks but lack of political consensus with the opposition, worried over the capture of the justice system, could postpone its approval.
