The Socialist Party (PS) will have the opportunity to select Albania’s new president unchallenged after a third round of voting lapsed on Monday without candidate on the Parliament’s ballot.
The Albanian Constitution allows Parliament five rounds to elect a new president from a proposed list of candidates. While the first three rounds require that a candidate receive 84 votes to be elected, the remaining two need only a simple majority of 71 for the President to be elected. Currently, the PS seats at a comfortable 74.
MPs submitted no proposals to the Speaker of Parliament during the first round, held on May 16.
A similar scenario played out during the second and third voting rounds on May 23 and 30, despite an agreement between the PS and the opposition Democratic Party (PD) that sought to select an unanimous candidate.
Under this agreement, the PD would pre-select four presidential candidates to the PS which would then whittle them down to two. After, a joint committee would select a final candidate to be presented to Parliament for a vote.
The agreement also meant, however, that the opposition will not be able to propose a candidate for the fourth and fifth round.
The PD had until Sunday to submit their candidates, but failed to do so on both rounds. As a result, MPs today have no one to vote for, but this third round—like the first and second— will be considered fulfilled nonetheless.
As foreseen by the Constitution, the PS will full power to elect a new President through simple majority if all Socialist MPs vote in favor, which they most likely will.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has already declared that if an unanimous decision is not reached between the parties, the Socialists will have no choice but to proceed with their own appointment.
