TIRANA, Jan. 30 – A majority of the Economy Commission’s Socialist Party members rejected on Tuesday Bahri Shaqiri as the head of the State Supreme Audit due to lack of experience in the financial sector, locking again thorns with President Ilir Meta, who proposed Shaqiri in the first place.
This is the second candidacy coming from Meta that the socialists reject, the first being Constitutional Court judge Vitore Tusha.
“He meets all legal conditions and criteria to be appointed to this position, as well as being a candidate with institutional and directive abilities,” Meta wrote in Shaqiri’s proposal appointment.
Shaqiri was also the head of the State Informative Service for a seven year period, until 2012, while currently being Meta’s adviser on security issues.
Head of the Economy Commission Arben Ahmetaj, however, said the candidate’s career seems to lack professional experience, particularly in the field of audit.
“All previous experience is far from the specificity of financial issues in general and audit in particular, as well as from some of the most important SSA activities such as financial audit, performance audit, compliance auditing, and IT auditing,” said Ahmetaj, motivating the decision to reject President Meta’s proposal.
Relations between the country’s presidency and the prime minister’s office have been cold for a while, with Meta not decreeing some of the most important bills the socialists have drafted, including the bill for the country’s new National Theatre building.
They however reached a boiling point in January, after Meta refused to decree 26-year-old, Kosovo citizen Gent Cakaj as the country’s new foreign minister as per Rama’s proposal when he reshuffled the Socialist cabinet back in December, ousting almost ten of his ministers.
In face of Meta’s refusal to dismiss then Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati, Rama also took over the post of foreign minister and then passed on the institution’s leadership to deputy minister Cakaj.
