TIRANA, Nov. 8 – The administrative elections of June 2019, which were boycotted by the opposition, are valid, Albania’s Constitutional Court has ruled, closing the last avenue for early full-participatory elections.
The country’ highest court rejected a request by the Association of Albanian Municipalities to declare the elections invalid.
The Constitutional Court ruling now opens the way for early elections in five municipalities left without elected leaders due to varied factors, including resignations, decriminalization law filters and the death of a sitting mayor.
President Ilir Meta had refused to set a date for early elections in the five municipalities — including in the large cities of Durres and Shkodra — until the Constitutional Court ruled on the validity of the elections in general.
Albania’s opposition said it would wait for the publication of the reasoning of the court’s decision before expressing an opinion.
The Constitutional Court ruling did not come as a surprise as it came after the publication three weeks ago of an expert opinion of the Venice Commission, which noted that the Albanian Constitutional Court has no jurisdiction to review the validity of Albania’s local elections.
Albania’s Constitutional Court had sought the assistance of the Venice Commission and historically Albanian judges have followed the recommendations of the Council of Europe expert body, although they are not under legal obligation to do so.
The June 30, 2019 elections created an unprecedented situation due to an opposition boycott and President Ilir Meta canceling the elections and setting another date.
Electoral authorities and the Albanian government of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, backed by the international community held the elections on the set date, resulting in the ruling Socialist Party winning all but one of the country’s 61 municipal mayoral seats. The elections also saw the lowest voter turnout ever in Albania.
