Albanian President Ilir Meta has criticized the Socialist majority’s decision to change the Constitution to accommodate open lists for MP candidates in elections.
The Socialist majority decided that voters will vote for their preferred MP candidates in an open list, instead of a closed list decided by party leadership. The extra-parliamentary opposition strongly disagreed with the unilateral decision.
Meta reminded the ruling majority that the Parliament has only 82 legitimate MPs, while 182 MPs and candidates for MPs from opposition parties have refused to be part of it.
“Although all lists of opposition parties have been exhausted since 18 months, the Parliament formally has only 122 MPs out of 140 MPs, which is the constitutional stipulation,” Meta stressed.
The president further claimed that the process to replace MPs after the opposition left the parliament was “openly unconstitutional and illegal.”
“It is time to put an end to all stupidity,” Meta warned, reminding the government of the EU accession requirements and Albanians’ EU aspiration.
