The Venice Commission is reviewing today the mandate of Olta Xhaçka, the request of the Speaker of the Assembly Elisa Spiropali to resolve what the majority sees as an impasse created in relations with the Constitutional Court, regarding cases of incompatibility of the deputy's mandate.
The request was forwarded by the Speaker of the Assembly, Elisa Spiropali, to the President of the Venice Commission, Claire Bazy Malaurie. Meanwhile, a fact-finding mission was appointed by the commission to hear the parties.
In the session of September 13, 2024 in the Assembly, the vote of socialist deputies prevented for the third time the transfer to the Constitutional Court of the issue of the mandate of socialist deputy, former Foreign Minister Olta Xhaçka. Unlike the two previous cases, the socialists abstained in the majority (65 votes) and only 9 voted against.
The Speaker of the Assembly addressed a letter to the Venice Commission to obtain an opinion on whether the Constitutional Court can impose on a deputy how he should vote. The opinion from the Venice Commission is requested to clarify the conduct in the cases that will follow, to avoid another clash between the two highest institutions of the Albanian state, the Constitutional Court and the Assembly.
Meanwhile, yesterday in a parliamentary session, the head of the DP parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, accused the speaker of parliament of keeping the draft opinion of the Venice Commission hidden and of not inviting members of the opposition to be part of the group that will be present at the Venice Commission today. Spiropali replied that he had not distributed the draft because it was not public and that he had not invited the opposition because they had rejected the invitations.