Fullani to be reconfirmed as BoA governor

TIRANA, Nov. 10 – Incumbent Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani is one step closer to serving a second consecutive term of office as the governor of Albania’s central bank after being decreed by President Bamir Topi this week. Fullani, whose first seven-year term of office expires this month, was one of the three candidates which the government had selected for the Bank of Albania governor. He will probably be reconfirmed in Parliament next week receiving only the votes of the ruling Democratic Party-led coalition, as the election of the governor does not require a qualified majority of votes.
Immediately after receiving the presidential decree, the opposition Socialist Party described Fullani as the worst possible choice. SP leader Edi Rama stated, “The possibility of a second term of office for Fullani is an impossibility to repair the considerable damage during his first mandate.”
The government had also proposed Elizabeta Gjoni, the director of the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority, and Petraq Milo, the Prime Minister’s economic advisor for the vacancy.
Meanwhile, Dhori Kule, the current dean of the Economy Faculty of the University of Tirana, has been nominated as a proposal by the Democratic Party for the Bank of Albania Supervisory Council. Ela Golemi, a financial expert from the Socialist Movement for Integration, and Ermelinda Meksi, a Socialist Party MP, who will have to relinquish their MP mandates, are two other candidacies for the central bank’s Supervisory Council.
Current Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani was the government’s favourite candidate for the new governor of the country’s central bank. “The candidacies we propose to parliament are current BoA governor Ardian Fullani, a banker with long experience and the head of the Bank of Albania in one of the most severe times for European and global finances,” said Berisha about Fullani, introducing him as the first nominee earlier this month.