Erion Braçe seeks an internal PS vote for Tirana candidate: I do not want to be merely an announcement

Socialist MP Erion Braçe has reacted on social media following Prime Minister Edi Rama’s meetings in Pogradec with Socialist Party leaders and ministers.

He reiterated his readiness to run for mayor of Tirana and proposed that the candidate be selected through a vote by PS members.

His reaction comes at a time when various names are circulating within the Socialist Party, with some having been tipped or announced as potential candidates to lead municipalities.

Speaking about Tirana, where Edi Rama has long expressed his support for Ogerta Manastirliu, Braçe opposed a selection that would be made solely through an announcement.

According to him, the candidacy should be decided through a democratic process in which Socialists vote.

The Socialist MP says that having several alternatives for the capital is positive, as it could bring more energy to the party structures.

He also stressed that he had not waited for instructions to begin working, while he has engaged in understanding the city’s needs and presenting his vision for Tirana.

“They tell me that so-and-so has been given the green light to become mayor, that someone else has been told, ‘Yes, you will become mayor,’ and that others have been told, ‘Yes, start working because you have the opportunity to become mayor, and you will become mayor.’

And that is very good; there is nothing better than for the PS to have alternatives for the candidate for mayor of Tirana. I am one of them, and I have not waited for someone to tell me to start working.

I am trying to understand the city, to say what I think about the city and to do everything possible for this city to become as livable as possible—with cleanliness, greenery and services, and with a mayor at the helm, working from morning until evening.

The fact that there are several alternatives is a very good signal, because it shows that there can be renewed energy. What I think concerns the fact that I have said it before: I do not prefer to be an announcement, and I do not think Socialists will vote for an announcement as the candidate for mayor of Tirana.

I do not think the citizens of Tirana should vote for an announcement. That is the difference: through a democratic process in which everyone submits to a vote, Tirana receives the right person from the PS through a vote, not through an announcement.”