TIRANA, May 24, 2022 – Albania’s parliament failed again in a second round on Monday to elect the new president as the ruling and opposition parties refused to nominate any candidates.
Last Wednesday, it appeared that the Socialists and some opposition MPs had reached an agreement for the opposition to offer candidates, but the opposition representatives said the agreement had been violated by the government.
The leader of the Socialist parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, said the Socialists would wait until the third round to nominate someone, allowing the opposition to nominate first.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said: “What we will do is we will wait for the third round. If it will be the same result, we will gather and talk with the leadership of the Socialist Party, then with the parliamentary group, then in the assembly hall.”
Under Albania’s much amended constitution, consensus is no longer required to elect the head of state. Until the third round, the president can only be elected by a qualified majority of 84 votes. While in the fourth or fifth round a simple majority of 71 MPs are needed, which means the Socialist Party can afford to wait until it can simply pick the candidate it wants to see as head of state.
