TIRANA, March 31 – The Special Investigation parliamentary Commission has once again postponed the impeachment proceedings against President of Albania Ilir Meta until July 31, after convening on Tuesday. The meeting, led by Ulsi Manja, was held online due to the measures imposed by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19.
During the last meeting of the Commission which took place in February, the Head of Justice Appointment Council (KED), Ardian Dvorani testified against Meta about the latter’s appointment of the Constitutional Court members, which led to his clash with the President.
Dvorani said that President Ilir Meta drew the KED’s attention about a candidate running for the Constitutional Court, while he himself believes the two institutions are equal.
Initially, the Special Investigation Commission was established to investigate President meta’s decree on the cancellation of last year’s June elections, but the case was further extended after the ruling Socialist Party accused the President of overstepping his competences regarding the appointment of the Constitutional Court judges and called for his dismissal.
However, in its preliminary opinion submitted to the Parliament in March, the Venice Commission urged the ruling party to consider the consequences of the President’s dismissal.
Referring to the sacking proceedings, the Venice Commission stated that “the president’s actions regarding the appointment of members of the Constitutional Court are generally consistent, with a reasonable interpretation of the Constitution. The actions taken by the president in response to the manner in which the JAC operates are justified. For this reason, there is no basis for the dismissal of the president.”
