The Steering Council of the Albanian national broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), has announced four candidates to lead the institution.
Previous director Thoma Gëllçi was arrested on charges of corruption earlier this year. Martin Leka temporarily holds the post of director.
The proposed candidates are Enkelejd Joti, Iris Luarsi, Moza Haxhiaj and Laureta Roshi, who have been deemed to have met the necessary criteria to run for the position.
As the state broadcaster, RTSH is supposed to be politically independent. It has been criticized in the past for failing to be independent and for placing politically connected individuals into management positions.
In 2019, Exit asked Gëllçi to comment on a recent OSCE report regarding the lack of independence of RTSH. He dismissed it as “gossip” and “untruths” while participating in an event organized by OSCE.
Enkelejd Joti is currently the director of Nene Teresa Hospital in Tirana, the state healthcare facility. He was previously General Manager at Top Channel, one of the country’s most-watched television stations. He has also been Deputy General Director of RTSH and has been reported as Prime Minister Edi Rama’s preferred choice.
Iris Luarsi is a “civil society leader in the fields of gender issues, women rights, advocacy, strategic development and public education,” according to her CV. She ran a counselling line for women and girls and worked for the Soros foundation, UN Women, UNICEF, and other NGOs. Luarsi lectures at the Journalism department at the University of Tirana.
Moza Haxhiaj was the editor-in-chief at RTSH for several years and has expressed the wish to progress to a more senior level.
Laureta Roshi has previously worked at the Ombudsman’s office. She is also a journalist for RTSH and has published her articles on BIRN and other portals.
