Albania president exceeded powers on polls
Posted Oct 14, 2019 11:19:59 AM.
TIRANA, Albania — Legal experts for Europe’s top human rights body say Albania’s president exceeded his constitutional authority when he tried to cancel June municipal elections.
The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission on Monday provided its opinion on President Ilir Meta’s action at the request of Albanian lawmakers.
The country’s governing Socialist Party has initiated post-communist Albania’s first presidential impeachment proceedings against Meta.
The Venice Commission experts said it’s up to Parliament and the constitutional Court to decide whether to impeach Meta.
They said that “even if the seriousness of the violations were established, this need not necessarily lead to an impeachment of the President.”
The president said he feared violence and opposition parties refusing to participate when he issued an order postponing the June 30 polls.
The Associated Press
