The Albanian Parliament will vote on dismissing President Ilir Meta today. This is the first time since the fall of communism that the country’s parliament attempts to dismiss a president.
Wednesday’s parliamentary session started with MP Alket Hyseni presenting the report by the inquiry committee he headed last month, tasked with inquiring into allegations by the Socialist majority that Meta committed “serious violations” of the Constitution during the April electoral campaign in the country.
MPs will vote on the report submitted by the committee, and also on whether to dismiss Meta based on the report’s findings.
The report found that the President violated the constitutional requirement that the President represent the unity of the people, by taking a political side in the electoral campaign, and by inciting violence.
Meta has dismissed all allegations and refused to recognize the committee.
The dismissal requires the votes of 94 MPs of the 140-seat parliament. However, only 122 MPs currently occupy their seats, as the remaining MPs left parliament in February 2019. The Socialists have 74 MPs, and they hope to get the support of the “opposition” MPs who back in 2019 refused their parties’ decision to leave parliament in sign of protests against allegations of vote-buying by the current government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The vote will take place later today, after MPs have had their opportunity to give their speeches.
