TIRANA, April 29 – Albania’s parliament has chosen Ilir Meta to be the country’s president for the next five years, a duty he will take on officially on July 24.
Meta is currently serving as speaker of parliament and is the leader of the junior ruling coalition partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration.
One of Albania’s longest serving and most successful politicians, 48-year-old Meta had served as prime minister a decade ago and held various other government seats in both leftist and center-right government.
He won an 87-2 vote in his favor in the 140-member parliament. He needed a mere 71 votes to be elected in the fourth round, as the previous three had been voided due to lack of consensus by the opposition.
Meta’s nomination was supported by his own party as well as the larger coalition ally, the main left-wing governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Albania’s opposition parties boycotted the vote as part of their two-month long absence from parliament seeking a caretaker government to guarantee free and fair election in June.
Meta will have to give up the party leadership to serve a president, a position the constitution sets up as a nonpartisan unifying figure.
The position of president has been stripped of all but symbolic powers due to constitutional changes in 2008 – changes that Meta fought against at the head of his party.
In his speech to parliament, Meta vowed to work for the country’s stability, democracy and social inclusion.
Incumbent President Bujar Nishani congratulated Meta on his election. A former ceremony to hand over the office of the head of state will take place on July 24.
