Yesterday, Prime Minister Rama claimed President Meta’s refusal to decree Sandër Lleshi’s appointment as Minister of Internal Affairs, was unfair and had no legal basis.
During the parliamentary hearing, Rama declared:
Nowhere is the President granted the right to refuse Ministers who enjoy the good faith of the Prime Minister. Even though the Constitution does not grant the President the right to refuse members of the government, neither explicitly nor implicitly, the President has drafted a document with no legal basis.
The Constitution includes the President’s 12 rights, and nowhere within is it determined that he has the right to refuse ministers.
However, Rama’s statement contradicts the Constitution, as, per article 98.1 of the Constitution:
A minister is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the Prime Minister, within 7 days.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Rama, still in contradiction with the deadline determined by the Constitution (“within 7 days”), declared that he would give President Meta a few more days to reflect on Lleshi’s appointment:
We will appoint the Minister the President refused in government, obviously as a deputy Minister, and we will give the President a few more days to mull over the issue, but we will also give ourselves time to take the next step.
This is the first time in the history of Albania that a President refuses to decree a Prime Minister’s choice for Minister.
Under these conditions, as Exit has explained elsewhere, Prime Minister Rama must propose another candidate for Minister of Interior Affairs.
