The decision by Acting President Albulena Haxhiu not to appoint the tenth member of the Central Election Commission has prompted reactions from former CEC Chairwoman Valdete Daka, as well as representatives of civil society. They have raised concerns about the implementation of constitutional provisions on the representation of political entities in this institution, KosovaPress reports.

On August 31, Haxhiu decreed nine members of the CEC, while stating that a decision on the final position would be made soon. However, it has still not been announced whether the seat will go to the third member of the Vetëvendosje Movement or the second member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo.

Valdete Daka considers the failure to decree the member who, according to her, should belong to the PDK to be a violation of the party’s right, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Law on General Elections.

She told KosovaPress that if Haxhiu does not appoint the new member, the PDK should consider referring the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Daka: PDK is entitled to two seats on the CEC

“The Acting President has not performed her duty as stipulated by the Constitution, since the Democratic Party of Kosovo should have been given another member as well. In doing so, she has violated a right belonging to this party, guaranteed both by the Constitution and the Law on General Elections… If Ms. Haxhiu still does not decree a member either for LVV or PDK, then she is not exercising the duty assigned to her by the Constitution. I believe that the PDK should respond here and perhaps refer this matter to the Constitutional Court,” she said.

According to Naim Jakaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Institute for Justice, the composition of the largest Albanian parliamentary groups after the June 7 elections determines that LVV and PDK should each have two members, while LDK and the Alliance should each have one member.

Jakaj: This is the composition the CEC should have

“Ms. Haxhiu, as Acting President, should have implemented the Constitution of Kosovo. Article 139 of the Constitution states that the six largest parliamentary groups should each have one member on the CEC. Since there are four largest Albanian parliamentary groups, the composition of the CEC is clear from both the constitutional wording and practice. In this regard, Ms. Haxhiu should have allocated two CEC members to LVV, two to PDK, one to LDK and one to the Alliance. This is the constitutionally mandated composition among the Albanian parties. Meanwhile, there has been no problem with the communities,” he emphasized.

The Vetëvendosje Movement has insisted that the third CEC member should belong to them.

Durmishi: LVV is seeking the third member

“The Vetëvendosje Movement has also requested the third member; the Acting President will decide on this,” said LVV member Hysen Durmishi after being decreed as a CEC member.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo declined to comment on the matter on Monday.

In the previous mandate, the Central Election Commission had operated with nine political members, while the tenth member and chairperson was Kreshnik Radoniqi.

Albulena Haxhiu, in her capacity as Acting President, has decreed the new members of the Central Election Commission.

Hysen Durmishi and Violeta Salihu from the VETËVENDOSJE! Movement, Rashit Qalaj from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ilir Fetahu from the Democratic League of Kosovo, Muharrem Nitaj from the Alliance, Stefan Filipovic from the Serb List, Yildiray Bayrami from the Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo, Delvir Tairi from the Vakat Coalition and Abedin Neziraj from the New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo have taken the oath.

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A 30-year-old man from Maliq has lost his life in Lake Pogradec after jumping into the water from a boat.

The young man, identified by the initials K.R., was on the boat together with two other people. The reasons that prompted him to jump into the lake are not yet known. Although he fell into the water, he was unable to resurface and drowned.

Authorities have launched an investigation to clarify the full circumstances of the incident. The statements of the two people who were with the victim at the time of the incident are also expected to be taken.

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Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiç has dismissed as unfounded the reactions from Pristina and Albania following his statements regarding the alteration of the course of the Ibar River.

During an interview with RTS, the head of the Serbian state said that the issue of the Ibar concerns Serbia alone.

“This is our internal matter. I do not know what connection the Ibar has with Albania,” Vuçiç said.

Referring to the situation near the village of Ribariç, he said that the authorities would examine the case to clarify what it involved.

Vuçiç’s position follows the reaction from Kosovo’s Albanian side to proposals to intervene in or redirect the course of the Ibar River. The latter has warned that the issue will be addressed in Brussels.

The Serbian president also accused the authorities in Kosovo of exerting pressure on and mistreating Serbs.

“They must do this to cover up all their crimes against the Serbian people—the arrests, mistreatment and harassment of Serbs, the demolition of homes and the beating of Serbs simply because they are Serbs,” he said.

In the same interview, Vuçiç also addressed the visit of the Ukrainian president to Serbia, which he described as beneficial to the country’s interests.

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Former Interior Minister Sandër Lleshaj describes citizens’ right to protest as an essential element of democracy and views the latest wave of protests as an important development for the country. In an interview, he criticizes political representation in Albania and the country’s inherited political class.

Lleshaj says the protests have highlighted the need for a profound change to the system and calls for a new law on political parties to be drafted. According to him, Albania’s current model of governance and democratic functioning must be fundamentally overhauled.

The former Socialist minister delivers a direct message to Prime Minister Edi Rama, stressing that resignation should not be seen as a tragedy, but as a decision that can be taken when “the time is ripe.”

Regarding the case of Belinda Balluku, Lleshaj stresses that justice cannot function only if someone decides to surrender or hand over another person.

Mr. Lleshaj, how do you view the wave of citizen protests demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation? What do you think has prompted Albanians to take to the streets again?

The protests have brought a new and necessary movement to the country’s public life after a long period of political and social stagnation. Their scale is also demonstrated by the widespread attention they have received internationally.

While in democratic countries parliament is the arena in which political parties operate and the streets belong to citizens who do not feel represented, Albania has experienced the opposite in recent years. Parliamentary parties have protested in the streets, while playing an almost peripheral role in the Assembly.

This time, something normal appears to be happening: citizens are in the streets, while the politicians paid with their taxes no longer seem to have a place there. Moreover, it is unclear where those politicians are today.

Could the situation worsen because the protesters’ demands are not being answered?

Politics must take seriously even the protest of a single citizen. It must show respect toward the people who finance it with their taxes. That respect begins with listening, without commentary and without attempts to downplay what is being demanded.

The attempt to delegitimize protesters by looking for motives other than the fact that they are citizens expressing their dissatisfaction is outdated. Ultimately, the government is also responsible for ensuring the safety of its own citizens’ protests.

It must also protect protests from possible foreign influence or infiltration, about which there has been much speculation but no evidence. Even during the protests and tragic events of 1997, the government of the time readily attributed responsibility to foreign intelligence services, as if it had no obligation to protect the country from them.

Under the present circumstances, there is only one way forward: the protests must be heard, understood and met with understanding.

In your view, should Edi Rama resign to pave the way for a political solution?

If I were still in communication with the prime minister and if he showed a willingness to accept advice, perhaps I would offer it. But time has also brought that communication to an end. For that reason, under present circumstances, all that is left for me is the ethical and professional silence associated with my former political relationship with the prime minister.

Nevertheless, my personal conviction is that resignation is not a tragedy. It can be a kind of blessing that a person experiences when the time is ripe. I experienced that feeling myself in 2020, when I stepped down as interior minister after one of thousands of police officers committed a crime at midnight while on patrol duty.

Every day that has passed since then has only strengthened my conviction that the decision was a blessing.

As a former interior minister, how do you assess the way the state is managing large citizen protests, particularly when there have also been cases of violence against protesters?

Once, during an interview, I was asked how the police would respond if the people attacked polling stations on election day. My answer was that the police would do nothing, because their mission is not to prevent the people from expressing their will, whatever that may be.

That is also my answer today. The police’s mission is to ensure that protests proceed normally. At the same time, they must confront crime and every violation of the law, while always respecting the principles of proportionality and restraint.

I have summarized this approach in what I call the 110 principle. It means that the police should respond to violent actions one step later in time, with one level less force than that used against them, and that the outcome of police intervention must be zero casualties.

That is the entire strategy: 110. The police belong to the citizens before they belong to the state. I regret that I did not have the opportunity to complete an initiative I once considered to change its name from the “State Police” to the “Albanian Police.” A police force that has historically belonged only to the state must increasingly become a police force for the citizens.

The protesters are demanding the transformation of the system, the removal of the old political class and the building of a new Albania that should be led by young people. How do you view this demand?

The protests have highlighted Albania’s most fundamental problem: the complete exhaustion of the political class inherited from the Party of Labour of Albania, in the form of the daughter parties it created at the end of its existence.

This is, in fact, the first and last problem the country must address. But instead of focusing on this issue, the protest has expanded to such a large number of topics and proposals that it has reached the level of cacophony.

Before addressing laws on strategic investments, protected areas, elections and other similar issues, Albania must change the political system that has produced the anomalies of recent decades.

The protest appears to be pursuing many objectives simultaneously, and it is well known what result comes from trying to hit two targets with one stone. Under the legislation developed over three decades, Albania is, de jure and de facto, hostage to political parties—or worse still, hostage to their leaders.

These leaders have the legal right to determine themselves the lists of candidates for whom Albanian citizens must vote. As a result, the Assembly has been filled with people appointed by the leaders of the parliamentary parties.

This situation is more than alarming. If parliament is not protected as the temple of democracy, nothing else can be protected: neither lagoons as the “temple” of flamingos, nor natural resources, nor public property.

If the protest were to bring about one genuine benefit for society, it would be to force the adoption of a new law on political parties. This law must strip them of their exclusive hold over representation and establish legal standards for the democratic election of party leaders, governing bodies and, above all, the candidates that parties field in elections, as happens in the Europe we aspire to join.

As long as Albanian citizens cannot exercise their constitutional right to stand for election and to vote without being dependent on the will of political party leaders, democracy in Albania will remain merely a propaganda slogan.

As for the idea of “power for the young,” I would say that it is a cliché that, although it sounds appealing, can be dangerous. It is similar to the cliché that women are incorruptible.

Young people undoubtedly have the right and the duty to participate in building the country’s future, which is also their own future. But this does not justify any kind of discrimination based on age.

The issue should not be framed as a choice between the departure of the old and the arrival of the young. In the state administration and the private sector, people should be engaged according to their skills and capabilities.

The knowledge and experience of the “old” cannot be excluded merely to make way for the energy of the “young.” Both qualities must be combined to achieve the best result.

Behind slogans promoting the “young” and “women” often lies the risk of their misuse. In certain cases, it is precisely a lack of qualifications and experience that becomes the weak point from which failure and corruption begin.

Have we still not understood that experiments in this regard have embarrassed us at international negotiating tables? In quite a few cases, young officials with polished appearances but insufficient knowledge and experience have made a very poor impression when facing international officials experienced in matters of state.

Have we not understood that the many failures of recent decades also bear the mark of numerous young people promoted solely because of their age, who failed for precisely that reason? Compared with other countries, Albania has an extraordinarily large number of young people in parliament and throughout state offices, but this has not helped the country.

Young people should have every opportunity and avenue to demonstrate their talent and energy. But rapidly placing them in positions that would normally require experience is harmful to everyone.

Perhaps it would be useful to understand the meaning of the English word “senior,” which is used to describe many high-level positions in the economy, public administration and politics.

One of the protesters’ demands is also the formation of a technical government with a one-year mandate. What do you think of this proposal?

This is another element that adds to the protest’s cacophony. A technical government would simply be a waste of time and the best way to bring the protest itself to an end without achieving any result.

Albania needs the fundamental political change I mentioned earlier: a new law on political parties. If that does not happen, a technical government would merely give party leaders the opportunity to catapult the same political kamikazes into the next parliament and create a replica of the current one.

The country does not need another political cycle with new actors, but a fundamental change to the system that produces the Albanian parliament.

The protesters are also demanding that Belinda Balluku’s immunity be lifted and that she be arrested. In your view, why is the justice system not acting against the former deputy prime minister? Is the argument that the Socialist Party is not handing her over convincing?

Justice must not depend on someone’s willingness to hand over a person or to submit to a process. If being handed over or surrendering voluntarily are prerequisites for justice to function, then justice appears to be absent.

Do you think SPAK is applying the same standard to all senior officials? What message would be conveyed by investigating every official against whom there is sufficient evidence or indication of wrongdoing?

I think the public’s expectations of SPAK have turned into a form of great naivety and illusion. SPAK has an obligation to bring before justice those who violate the law, but we cannot expect it to solve the fundamental problems associated with the lack of democratic legitimacy of institutions that rank above SPAK itself.

SPAK cannot give legitimacy or credibility to a discredited parliament. At best, this parliament produces anecdotes and ridiculous stories about the country; at worst, it passes laws that harm the public interest.

Without a dignified parliament elected by Albanians rather than by party leaders, neither SPAK nor the creation of a thousand other bodies would be enough. Things would continue along the same course.

To be continued tomorrow…

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For the 59th time in a row, citizens gathered on the boulevard against Edi Rama’s government chose to express their views through numerous banners during the protest.

Some of the inscriptions highlighted the movement’s continuity, while others openly mocked the prime minister’s latest statements, underscoring that the truth cannot be undone.

One of the most prominent banners featured Edi Rama’s photo and his document called “BESA,” accompanied by the inscription: “We are not part of your book. We are part of our history.” This message was an ironic response to Rama’s presentation of this text, which he described as a reflection and a renewed commitment from the government.

During the rally, other banners were also seen with texts such as: “59, History continues,” “59 days. Every day on the street. Every day on the right side of history,” “59 days. History belongs to those who take to the streets,” and “No algorithm can erase reality.”

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The Criminal Collegium of the High Court announced on Tuesday the ruling on Fatime Kryemadhi’s appeal, dismissing it. She challenged the interim decision of June 15, by which the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) had denied her request to waive the summary trial procedure.

With this ruling, the lower court’s position remains unchanged. This means the judicial case against Kryemadhi will continue under the expedited procedure, as originally set by GJKKO, since her request for modification was deemed unfounded.

According to the prosecution, Fatime Kryemadhi faces inability to document several significant sums of money. These include 98,000 euros, 246,000 dollars, 100,000 euros reported as liquidations from the company “Agi Cons” for loan repayments, and an additional 310,000 euros suspected of having an unjustified origin. The Special Prosecution claims that the two loans taken for the purchase of apartments were covered with cash payments, for which no trace of a lawful financial source exists.

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The incident was uncovered a day earlier, when the 11 migrants from third countries were at risk of drowning while traveling by inflatable boat. The intervention of the Border Police made it possible to identify the case and launch an investigation.

According to the initial investigative actions, the 43-year-old, in cooperation with an Albanian national who has not yet been identified, had organized the illegal crossing into Albania from Greece of 10 foreign nationals through the border with Greece. The aim was then to send them to Italy.

The inflatable boat had been collected by M. E. in Seman, Fier, from a location sent to him by his Albanian accomplice. The vessel had been made available to him to transport the 10 migrants to Italy.

Crime Investigation specialists at the Vlora Directorate of Border and Migration, in cooperation with the Prosecutor’s Office, arrested the 43-year-old following swift and professional investigations on charges of “Assisting Illegal Border Crossing.”

The other 10 individuals aboard the inflatable boat were also placed under criminal investigation for “Illegal Crossing of the State Border.” They are originally from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Liberia and Haiti.

The investigative structures of the Vlora Directorate of Border and Migration and the Prosecutor’s Office are continuing intensive investigations to fully clarify the circumstances of the incident. Efforts are also focused on identifying and apprehending the Albanian national involved, as well as other individuals who may have taken part in the attempted smuggling of migrants from third countries to Italy.

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According to Greek media reports, police had undertaken special measures against the import and distribution of narcotics in the country. After acting on the information obtained, officers identified a private vehicle driven by the 68-year-old in an area of Florina.

A search of the car uncovered two travel bags and one sack containing 50 packages of marijuana. The narcotics had a total gross weight of 55 kg and 422 grams.

During the operation, police also seized three mobile phones.

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In the document dated June 23, forwarded to the Parliament, the State Advocacy noted that despite Strasbourg’s recommendations, the Constitutional Court had not adopted any official position. As a result, the ECtHR continued to find violations concerning the right of access to the constitutional court and the method of calculating the time limit for individual complaints.

In its response, the Constitutional Court clarifies from the outset that its activity is not guided by the suggestions of the State Advocacy or any other state body. It emphasizes that the legal basis for implementing the ECtHR’s case-law is exclusively the Constitution, specifically the relevant articles that enshrine this obligation.

“Respecting the separation of powers, while open to institutional coordination, the Court is not activated by recommendations from other public institutions, including the State Advocacy, nor does it take into account ECtHR judgments because of its notifications. For the Court, as for any public body, the implementation of these judgments and jurisprudence stems directly from Articles 5, 17, and 122 of the Constitution,” the statement stresses.

The Court explains that the issues raised for which Strasbourg has found violations relate to the interpretation of the time limit for complaints after the 2016 constitutional reform, when this limit was reduced to four months from the previous two years. It indicates that after the case “Supergrav v. Albania” on May 9, 2023, internal practice changed to align with the requirements of the Convention.

For cases where the ECtHR has confirmed procedural violations, the Constitutional Court confirms that it has reopened proceedings at the request of the parties, without reviewing cases already adjudicated by Strasbourg.

“Immediately after the ECtHR ruled that our previous interpretation was contrary to the ECHR, especially after the ‘Supergrav’ judgment of May 9, 2023, the Court changed its approach, aligning the application of the organic law with European standards. Now, for each individual constitutional complaint, we formally request information from the Supreme Court regarding the notification of the contested decision. If no official evidence is provided, the burden of proof is not shifted to the citizen, and the complaint is considered to have been filed within the time limit,” the statement further explains.

As for the criticism on the reasoning of decisions, the Constitutional Court argues that the State Advocacy’s report does not highlight that the case “Frroku v. Albania” was dealt with during a period when the institution lacked a full bench. According to the organic law, when the required majority of 5 judges is missing, the application is automatically dismissed.

The institution stresses that, since 2021, the approach has evolved and now every decision is accompanied by full reasoning, including separate opinions of judges, in cases where the proper majority is not reached, a situation also influenced by the fact that the court currently operates with only eight members.

At the end of its reaction, the Constitutional Court appeals to the State Advocacy to prepare high-quality reports that are complete and impartial, and it reaffirms its commitment to rigorously implement ECtHR judgments and to protect fundamental individual rights.

“The State Advocacy is the legally responsible body for the dignified, transparent, and professional representation of Albania in Strasbourg. To perform this task, it must necessarily possess complete, accurate, and up-to-date information,” the statement concludes.

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One of the activists stressed that this protest has already won the battle of numbers and has demonstrated endurance.

He added that Rama and the government are being worn down more and more each day, which, according to him, is clearly reflected in their posts on social media.

Activist: Do not fall into the trap of those who want to reduce the protest to a competition of numbers. We have won this confrontation, because we have organized the largest protests this country has ever seen. If anyone thinks there is a gathering larger in numbers than this one, let them show it. This is a battle of endurance. It is resistance, because our persistence here for 41 days is wearing them down day by day. They are in a continuous process of erosion. Just look at their daily posts on social media, they are messages of panic, they are the posts of someone whose back is against the wall. I want to say that those who promise Europe, while not bringing Europe, accuse us of being agents of Iran, but in fact are behaving like Iran. You have seen that they have set up a virtual morality police, led by Taulant Balla, who comes out and explains to us how a protester should behave. Can an incriminated government lecture us on morality? This prime minister starts his morning by publishing digital travel permits. We must remove this communist mentality that has led us for more than 36 years.

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