TIRANA, July 23 – Serious Crimes Prosecutor Olsian Cela, also one of the four candidates for the post of General Prosecutor, passed the vetting process under the country’s justice reform on Tuesday.
à‡ela had no problems with the reevaluation process in all three criteria, that professional formation, integrity of figure and wealth justification, a criterion that has led to the dismissal of the overwhelming part of judges and prosecutors who have undergone the vetting process.
With a long career in the Serious Crimes Prosecution Office, which he has also headed for several years, à‡ela is seen as one of the main favorites to take over the direction of the General Prosecutor’s Office.
The Appellate Prosecutor Fatjona Memà§aj, lawyer Lulzim Allushaj, as well as the current temporary GP Arta Marku, are also part of the candidacy list.
The latter was appointed by parliament with a provisional mandate in December 2017. During this period she was the target of criticism, especially the opposition, for allegedly dragging on investigations into cases involving implications of Socialist Party exponents and controversially moving or appointing some of the prosecutors in different branches.
The selection process will enter a final stage after Tuesday’s process.
The High Prosecutorial Council will only have to wait for the decision of the Commission to be finalized, as well as the time during which the Public Commissioner will decide whether to appeal à‡ela’s case or not, and must begin with the interviews of the four candidates in the contest, and later evaluate them based on a score system.
In the end, it will be up to the parliament to make a final decision.
Appointment of the Prosecutor General requires a qualified majority with three-fifths of the parliament. In cases where a quorum is not reached, then automatically the post passes to the candidate ranked first on the list of the High Prosecutorial Council.
