The arrested Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, has today appealed to the Constitutional Court the government's decision to dismiss him, describing it as illegal and unconstitutional. The appeal automatically suspends the effects of the decision and postpones any possible electoral process for the Municipality of Tirana until a final decision by the Constitutional Court.
This development slows down the political plans of the socialist majority to organize early elections and leaves the leadership of the capital's municipality in unclear territory.
In the request to the Constitutional Court, Veliaj argues that the decision to dismiss him, based on Article 62 of the Law "On Local Self-Government", is insufficient from a constitutional point of view.
Read: Erion Veliaj's other Tirana
He emphasizes that any dismissal of a mayor must be based exclusively on Article 115 of the Constitution, which requires "serious violations of the Constitution or the law" and a final decision to legitimize this.
According to Veliaj, his absence from duty since February 10, 2025 is the result of "an objective impossibility" – detention – and does not constitute a voluntary act that would be considered "serious violation" according to constitutional standards.
The request argues, referring to previous decisions of the Constitutional Court, that lawmakers cannot add new categories for dismissal beyond those sanctioned in the Constitution. If this happens, according to Veliaj, the law replaces the Constitution, undermining the principle of hierarchy of norms and legal order.
In this interpretation of the mayor, the government has exceeded its powers by applying a legal provision that has no direct constitutional support. Furthermore, Veliaj emphasizes that the continuity of the function was guaranteed through the appointment of the vice-mayor, according to Article 64 of the same law, and that there was no institutional vacuum.
A few hours after the appeal, the Constitutional Court announced in its electronic registry the appointment of Judge Sonila Bejtja as rapporteur of the case with the following subject: Abrogation of the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 539, dated 25.09.2025 'On the dismissal from office of the Mayor of Tirana, Mr. Erion Veliaj', as incompatible with the Constitution.
A constitutional challenge with far-reaching consequences
Citizens.al has been continuously following Veliaj's case since the day of his arrest until the moment when the Municipal Council voted to propose his dismissal to the government.
in previous reporting We emphasized that his dismissal came after a proposal supported by the socialist majority and the opposition, making it a unique case in Albanian politics after the '90s for such a consensus.
Lexo: The moral cause for which Veliaj is not being investigated
The current request to the Constitutional Court goes beyond the fate of Veliaj, who seems to have finally – at least not in an official stance – broken relations with the Socialist Party by opposing an open political decision made by its leader, Edi Rama.
On the other hand, it sets a precedent for the autonomy of local government, for limiting government interference, and for the real role of the Constitution in protecting elected mandates.
As long as the Constitutional Court review will last – potentially several months – any attempt to decree early elections for the Municipality of Tirana remains suspended.
The candidacy proposed by the Socialist Party, Ogerta Manastirliu, cannot be formalized in the absence of an electoral process. On the other hand, this gives the opposition time to better consider and plan possible candidacies since there has been no official name proposed by them.
If the Constitutional Court were to accept Veliaj's interpretation, this could significantly limit the executive's powers to intervene in local governments and rewrite a new standard on the reasons for dismissals.
In this sense, the issue is no longer just about Veliaj. It has become a test for the role of the Constitutional Court as guardian of the legal order and for the weight that the Constitution actually holds in the face of political decisions.
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