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PROPOSAL OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUP OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR THE PROCESS OF ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
The Assembly is on the verge of developing the parliamentary procedure for the election of the President of the Republic, with a 5-year term, which begins on 24.07.2022. This is one of the most important constitutional procedures, which takes place in the following situation:
– According to Article 86 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic is the Head of State and represents the unity of the people;
– According to Article 87 of the Constitution, the development of the first three rounds aims at the election of the President of the Republic with a qualified majority of 3/5 of the members of the Assembly, ie with a majority that exceeds the unilateral party wills;
– The current majority does not have the necessary legitimacy to elect the President of the Republic alone, even after three rounds by a qualified majority. This parliamentary majority is formed from contested mandates, in a contested electoral process[1]and at least 7 of its mandates are the result of the commitment of individuals declared non-women by the US for corruption (2 mandates of Aqif Rakip; 3 mandates of Tom Doshi) or arrested for corruption in the exercise of public office (2 mandates of Lefter Kokës and Alqi Bllakos);
– The current majority, as a result of the institutional developments of recent years, has captured and controls all powers alone. The President of the Republic remains the only institution which, in its proper constitutional role of guarantor of the Constitution, can act for control and balance between powers;
The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party estimates that:
It is the constitutional duty of the parliamentary opposition to participate in the procedure of electing the President, as a way to guarantee its constitutionality, as well as to convey the interest of the citizens in this process, while applying the principle of loyal cooperation that should characterize each parliamentary process, for which the Constitution provides for a qualified parliamentary majority;
The President of the Republic, who according to the Constitution represents the unity of the people, must be elected in a comprehensive, consensual process between the parliamentary majority and minority, transparent, loyal to the Constitution and the interests of the citizens;
The President of the Republic, who according to the Constitution is the head of state, should be elected based on clear and predetermined criteria suitable for the height of office, so that the election is an honest result of the process and criteria, leaving previous practices where the individual has been offered this senior state duty.
The process of electing the President of the Republic must guarantee the substantial participation of the opposition, with the aim of respecting the citizens whom the opposition represents. It should be a process that creates the parliamentary practice of respecting the parliamentary opposition, as a constitutional obligation in the function of democratic legitimacy.
To this end, the PD Parliamentary Group, aware of the importance of this process, proposes the following criteria and procedure, as a serious step for the election of a consensual President.
CRITERIA FOR ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
According to the Constitution, only an Albanian citizen can be elected President from birth, having resided in Albania for at least the last 10 years and who has reached the age of 40.
The Constitutional Court has stated that the Constitution, following the model of a parliamentary republic, has conceived the President with a neutral position, above the parties (super parties), with an important role in resolving crises, balancing powers and performing their respective functions, which it is also related to the procedure of his election by the necessary parliamentary majority and through rounds of voting. The president should not be invested politically, he should not be seen either as a direct part of the executive or as a direct part of political parties, but as a constitutional arbiter, who only in this position can resolve institutional crises and become a guarantor of the Constitution. Despite not making political decisions, the President has influence in the political life of the country, in accordance with this role assigned to him by the Constitution. (decisions no. 1/2022 and no. 26/2021 of the Constitutional Court).
The parliamentary group of the Democratic Party estimates that in addition to these constitutional criteria, the President of the Republic must meet specific criteria, which guarantee his moral and professional integrity to fulfill the constitutional duty with neutrality and fidelity to the Constitution. These specific criteria may include:
1. The candidate for President of the Republic, during the last 5 years, should not have been engaged in active party politics, in the sense that he has not held political functions in state bodies or positions in the governing bodies of any political party.
2. The candidate for President of the Republic, throughout his professional experience, must have publicly demonstrated outstanding skills of integrity, in terms of political contributions, where he has demonstrated ability to decide in difficult situations and ability to withstand pressure / inappropriate political influence. Evidence of his commitment and dedication to important civil causes is an advantage;
3. The candidate for President of the Republic must make full and documented transparency of all income and legality of property, as well as the payment of all tax obligations, based on the official documentation of the responsible state institutions.
4. The candidate for President of the Republic must not have been and not be an associate, informant or agent of any secret service, as well as in the period 29.11.1944 – 02.07.1991 has not been a member or candidate of the Politburo, a member of Central Committee of the Albanian Labor Party, member of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, chairman of the Supreme Court, General Prosecutor, chairman of the General Investigation, member of the Council of Ministers, chairman of the Branches of Internal Affairs, employee of the bodies of former State Security, former State Security collaborator or favored, member of the Central Deportation-Internment Commission, investigator, prosecutor, judge in political trials, denouncer or prosecution witness in special political trials. Evidence of his commitment and dedication to the eradication and eradication of communism is an advantage.
5. The candidate for President of the Republic must meet the conditions of purity of the figure in terms of decriminalization.
6. The candidate for President of the Republic must have experience in his work for at least 15 years, where he has proved high and proven moral and professional integrity, as well as has proved political impartiality in his activity and public attitudes. , in order to increase public confidence in the figure who is elected President. Evidence of the President’s commitment to the fundamental constitutional values, to the process of Albania’s Euro-Atlantic integration and Euro-Atlantic values is an advantage.
COMPREHENSIVE AND CONSENSUAL PROCESS MAJORITY-PARLIAMENTARY MINORITY
In order to ensure the acceptance of all political parties in the figure of the President of the Republic, in order to increase public confidence in the Institution of the President of the Republic, it is necessary that the parliamentary process for the election of the President of the Republic be transparent, comprehensive, loyal to Constitutional and consensual. It should be based on honest discussion and dialogue between the parliamentary majority and minority, with each party playing an active role in the selection process. In this regard, the parties must agree on the formation of a joint process, which ensures a balanced role of all parties. Only after agreeing on common rules of procedure, the parties can move on to the stage of proposing concrete names, with the common goal of selecting the best possible candidate to exercise the office of President of the Republic.
The process must at all costs aim at electing the President of the Republic by a qualified majority of at least 84 votes.
A formula for the process, without being limited and that can be perfected with the contribution of all parliamentary groups, can be as follows:
1. The parties agree in advance on the criteria for the selection of the President of the Republic. Agreed criteria are published immediately;
2. The Parliamentary Opposition proposes 4 candidates for President of the Republic, who come proportionally from different fields, which are predetermined in the criteria determined according to point 1. These proposals are subject to public consultation in advance;
3. The majority selects 2 candidates who enjoy the most trust.
4. A Commission consisting of 6 members: 3 parliamentary majority and 3 parliamentary minorities, reviews the 2 selected candidates and agrees on the joint selection and proposal of one of the candidates. The selected candidate is subject to voting in plenary session.
5. This procedure is repeated for each round, where the candidates who are not selected according to point 2, and the candidate who has not received support in the plenary session are disqualified.
6. Unilateral violation of the rules of procedure is officially notified to the parliamentary majority and is published immediately. In case the violation is not repaired or in case of their repeated violation, the parliamentary opposition withdraws from further participation in the process by publicly stating the cause.
The Chairman of the PD Parliamentary Group is charged before consulting this proposal to formally consult with all parliamentary opposition groups and to reflect their proposals, in order to unify the opposition position on this process.
This document is not intended to solidify a process that favors the opposition, but aims at inclusiveness. For this reason, this proposal is open for discussion, improvement or additional proposals by all parliamentary groups, with the sole aim of building a transparent process that produces a universally accepted product. The Chairman of the Parliamentary Group is in charge of this process, who constantly informs and consults the Parliamentary Group on the progress of the process.
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