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Why was Rama in such a hurry to take Tirana to the elections on November 9?

2025-10-10 11:56:26Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA FJORALBA DIZDARI
Fjoralba Dizdari

President Bajram Begaj's decision to decree November 9 as the date of elections in the Municipality of Tirana has opened a strong institutional and political debate.

At first glance, it seems like a common legal procedure, but in essence, behind this decision lies a political rush that raises many questions about the majority's relationship with independent institutions.

President Begaj is not perceived as an independent figure, but as a product and institutional extension of the majority. The decree of November 9, without waiting for the Constitutional Court's decision on the issue of Erion Veliaj's mandate, clearly shows the coordination of institutions under the influence of Edi Rama.

This is not a purely procedural action, but a politically calculated move, with clear and synchronized objectives. This is not the first time that Albania has faced a political “emergency” that predates the law.

Even in the past, election deadlines, presidential decrees, or changes in administration have been used as instruments to create political advantage, rather than as mechanisms of the rule of law.

The culture of decision-making before trial has become a standard of executive power, making even the role of the President a formal form of a decision that is made elsewhere.

In this sense, the decree for the November 9 elections is a continuation of a consolidated model, not an institutional coincidence. The decision not to wait for the Constitutional Court contradicts one of the fundamental principles of the rule of law, the principle of waiting for the judicial effect before an act produces irreversible consequences.

If the elections had been held on November 9, and the Court had subsequently declared the decree invalid, the country would face a new institutional crisis, where neither the result nor the legitimacy would have legal value.

This would damage not only the credibility of the institutions, but also the democratic process itself, turning the vote into a contested act from the start.

This is not an institutional decision, but a politically calculated move.

The goal is threefold:

1. Prevent the intervention of the Constitutional Court, which could overturn the legal basis of the process and expose the lack of legitimacy of the situation in the Municipality of Tirana.

2. To confront the opposition with a fait accompli, by forcing it into an unprepared election, without time for organization, structuring, or a proper campaign.

3. To consolidate control over Tirana before winter, a period that is expected to be accompanied by increases in prices, taxes, and social discontent, which could weigh on the government if the elections were postponed.

A deeper reason for this decision is also related to the economic and political moment.

Albania is entering a difficult winter, with stable inflation, rising energy prices and local taxes, while citizens' real incomes remain low.

A vote in this context would be much more politically costly for the majority, which seeks to maintain control over Tirana before this dissatisfaction turns into an electoral loss.

The capital is not just an administrative territory, it is the political symbol of power and the center of all public communication. An unexpected result in Tirana would have a domino effect throughout the country, so snap elections are a way to prevent the risk of electoral erosion.

Therefore, the move to conclude this process before winter has more to do with political calculations than with respecting legal deadlines. At first glance, we have a formal presidential decree, but in reality we are dealing with a politically overloaded decision, which raises serious questions about the real separation of powers in Albania and the limits of institutional independence.

In a functioning republic, the President would wait for the Constitutional Court's decision before setting the election date. In today's Albania, it seems that the political decision precedes the constitutional judgment, and this says more about the way power works than about the electoral calendar.

The issue of November 9 is more than a debate about the election date, it is a test of the independence of institutions and a reflection of the way political power interferes with constitutional balances.

When every decision is made in function of an electoral goal, then the state becomes an instrument of the party and not of the law.

The question that remains is not only why the date was set, but how long Albania will continue to function with this logic of political urgency that precedes justice. 


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