The President has decreed November 9 as the date of partial elections for six municipalities, including Tirana, although arrested Mayor Erion Veliaj has appealed the dismissal decision to the Constitutional Court, automatically suspending it.
This action by the Presidency has raised questions about the legal validity of the decree and risks further deepening the institutional crisis between the powers.
By-elections, amid controversy over delays
President Bajram Begaj decreed on Wednesday, November 9, 2025, to hold partial mayoral elections in six municipalities: Tirana, Vlora, Berat, Mat, Tepelena and Cërrik.
For the municipalities of Mat, Berat and Tepelena, the respective mayors – Agron Malaj, Ervin Demo, Tërmet Peçi – had resigned more than six months after running in the May 11 parliamentary elections.
Andis Salla left the post of mayor of Cërrik after being appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on September 11. About a week later, Ermal Dredha resigned from the presidency of the Vlora municipality.
But the delay in announcing these vacancies has raised doubts about the impact that recent developments in the capital may have had on presidential decision-making.
The case of Tirana, at the center of the debate
The decreeing of the date for the elections in the Municipality of Tirana has caused controversy, because Mayor Erion Veliaj has complained the dismissal decision to the Constitutional Court, which according to the law suspends the effects of the dismissal until there is a final decision.
But, the Presidency justified it Tuesday's decree that officially recognized his vacancy with the lack of competence of the Constitutional Court to review the Council of Ministers' decision on dismissal, claiming that the appeal was sent to the wrong court and that it should have been reviewed in the administrative court.
However, the decree states that "in respect of institutional neutrality, the President of the Republic does not examine the merits of the case", a phrase that contradicts the legal assessment that the President himself has made of the path followed by Veliaj.
The arrested mayor considered the President's decree unconstitutional. In a press statement on Thursday, he stressed that "The mandate is not personal" by "expression of the sovereignty of the citizens of Tirana" implying that the will of the citizens is being deformed in this process.
Lawyer Dorian Matlija explains to Citizens.al that the President's decision violates point 3 of Article 115 of the Constitution, which clearly states:
"In the event of failure to exercise the right to appeal within 15 days, or in the event of the Constitutional Court upholding the decision of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic shall set the date of the elections in the relevant local unit."
According to Matlija, this condition has not been met, as the constitutional process is still under development.
"The president can also make mistakes, as happened with the election decrees that Ilir Meta made, twice. But in this case, it is up to the CEC to choose how to act," adds Matlija.
So far, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has not issued a clear statement, but has distributed the President's decree on social media - an action that implies a form of approval or at least continuation of the process.
"If the CEC decides to follow this decision, then it will also be part of the violation. However, the CEC has the right to give its own constitutional interpretation," Matlija analyzes.
Is the President's decree valid?
The only scenario where the President's decision would have full force, according to Matlija, is the conclusion of the Constitutional Court trial before November 9. But he is skeptical about this possibility, as a constitutional process usually lasts more than a month.
We recall that on September 23, 2025, the Tirana Municipal Council proposed dismissal of Erion Veliaj, with 50 votes in favor, after a session where he was not present due to his arrest. The decision was considered controversial, as the chairman did not have the opportunity to express himself in person.
A few days later, Veliaj appealed the case to the Constitutional Court, which automatically suspends the dismissal until a final decision.
The political case against Veliaj comes a few weeks after SPAK sent his case to court, officially accusing him of building a corruption scheme with the main beneficiaries being his family circle and a select group of businessmen close to him.
As Citizens.al previously reported, SPAK's investigation primarily involved Veliaj's wife, Ajola Xoxa, who was traced to contracts, businesses, purchases, and construction with suspicious financing.
One of these cases was the project of a road specifically opened to add value to the construction of a palace owned by the Xoxa family, an investigation published on April 10 by Citizens.al.
Read also:
- The Veliaj File: Investigations, Accusations and Facts
- "Custom" road to Xoxa's palace
- "Harabel" artworks in Tirana
He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
