TIRANA, Aug. 29 – A former ruling Socialist Party MP who a year ago gave up his MP mandate over his criminal past has been unanimously voted as the new president of Albania’s Wrestling Federation, sparking concerns over the future of this sport which left Albania unrepresented at the Rio Olympics for the first time since the 1996 Olympics.
Arben Ndoka, 42, who resigned as MP in Sept. 2015 after the opposition Democrats unveiled he had been previously sentenced in Italy over human trafficking, was unanimously voted as the new president of Albania’s Wrestling Federation last weekend at an extraordinary meeting of the federation’s general assembly which dismissed Martin Biba following his controversial reelection last year.
Ndoka’s reelection was also backed by the Education and Sports Ministry which was represented by deputy minister Rauf Dimraj in the voting process.
Speaking after his election, Ndoka promised to handle shortcomings and enable Albania’s participation in key competitions.
“I guarantee you that our federation will enable the participation of our wrestlers in the next Mediterranean and Olympic Games,” he said.
Wrestling has been one of Albania’s best performing sports, but poor financial support and tough training conditions forced two of Albania’s best wrestlers to switch nationalities in the past two Olympic Games.
Former Albania freestyle wrestler Sahit Prizreni represented Australia in the Rio Olympics while Elis Guri has been competing for Bulgaria since 2011.
Ndoka, who became an MP with the ruling Socialist Party in Sept. 2013 also physically assaulted an opposition MP at the Parliament premises in July 2015 but was cleared of charges by the Supreme Court.
In his resignation letter in Sept. 2015 Ndoka claimed he had been wrongly sentenced in Italy but apparently his resignation preceded the decriminalization bill which bans people convicted of serious crimes from holding public office.
The opposition Democratic Party blamed Prime Minister Edi Rama for Ndoka’s election as head of the wrestling federation.
“Edi Rama sent his officials to legalize Arben Ndoka, sentenced for prostitution and abduction, as the head of the wrestling federation. Edi Rama did not only give Ndoka a sports federation, but also gave him again permission to do what he best does, the violation of the free vote, pressure against citizens and standing above law,” said the opposition Democratic Party in a statement.
