The removal of Arben Ahmetaj's immunity by a majority of votes in the parliament does not strip him of a number of financial privileges he enjoys as a member of the Albanian Parliament. If he does not resign or there is no final court decision, Ahmetaj will enjoy the mandate of deputy for more than six months.
Article 71 of the Constitution sanctions that the mandate of the deputy expires or is considered invalid when he is absent without reason for more than 6 consecutive months in the Assembly or when he is punished by a final court decision for committing a crime.
Regarding the removal of the mandate of MP Ahmetaj, Chief Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi explains that this is a matter for the Assembly. For the Central Election Commission, there is no notice of vacancy and the CEC itself as an institution has no role in this matter.
So, only after more than six months of absence from the Assembly, excluding the period when the parliament interrupts its work, Ahmetaj can be under the conditions of removal of the mandate. Only then can the Assembly announce a vacancy among the deputies of the Socialist Party, and the CEC can transfer the mandate to the next candidate on the list of the same political party.
The last session where Ahmetaj was present dates back to July 6, the day after he left the territory of Albania for family reasons. The day of Ahmetaj's departure to England coincides with the day when SPAK sent the request to the Assembly for authorization to search homes and arrest Ahmetaj. The deputy's communications with the voters are now carried out only through social networks, and it is not known if he will return to resign and face justice.
© Copyright Vox News
This article is exclusive to Vox News, it is copyrighted according to Law No. 35/2016, "On copyright and related rights". The article can be republished by other media only by citing Vox News and placing the source link at the end, otherwise any violator will be held responsible according to Article 178 of Law No. 35/2016.