The detention and attempted dismissal of Tirana’s mayor raises fresh doubts over Albania’s rule of law and political maneuvering.
Albania, Tirana Times, September 22,2025. The Socialist-controlled Tirana Municipal Council is expected to vote on Tuesday to dismiss Erion Veliaj from his post as mayor, formalizing a political downfall that has been months in the making. Veliaj, once widely seen as Prime Minister Edi Rama’s heir apparent within the ruling Socialist Party, has been in pre-trial detention for six months on corruption and money laundering charges. The vote follows Rama’s announcement earlier this month that Ogerta Manastirliu, a former health minister, will be the Socialist candidate for Tirana in future elections—an unmistakable signal that Veliaj’s political career is being cut short.
The official justification for Veliaj’s removal is that he has been absent from duty for more than three months, a threshold that under Albanian law allows for dismissal. Yet legal experts, both domestic and international, argue that the interpretation is flawed. Veliaj’s absence, they note, is not voluntary but imposed by what his lawyers call a “disproportionate” preventive detention order.
In a letter sent from prison to the municipal council, Veliaj insisted that the sanction undermines democratic representation and sets a dangerous precedent: “This absence is not a matter of free will, but the result of a preliminary measure, not a final verdict of guilt.” He has vowed to challenge the decision all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.
Veliaj’s defense team has reinforced that the council is acting illegally by rushing the dismissal without granting him the right to be heard. On September 22, his lawyers accused the council’s secretary of overstepping his authority by issuing a public notice without a formal council decision. They emphasized that Veliaj has not been officially notified of the agenda, the grounds for dismissal, or the evidence against him—violations of due process and constitutional guarantees.
The opposition Democratic Party, led by former prime minister Sali Berisha, has also weighed in. In a press conference, Berisha confirmed that opposition councilors will vote for Veliaj’s dismissal, but demanded that the imprisoned mayor be allowed to present his defense before the council. “If Edi Rama is not afraid, let him allow Veliaj to speak,” Berisha declared.
Berisha argued that Veliaj is directly responsible for the disappearance of €130 million in the controversial Tirana incinerator project, alongside Rama and Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku. He insisted that the Democratic Party had organized 47 protests against Veliaj’s governance and branded the scandal “the ugliest crime” in post-communist Albania. Yet Berisha underlined that the principle at stake is the right of an elected official—even one under investigation—to be heard before his mandate is terminated.
Despite procedural ambiguities, few doubt the outcome. Socialist councilors—34 out of 61 members—hold the majority and are expected to approve the dismissal. For many observers, the move reflects not only a legal controversy but also a calculated political purge. A Western diplomat in Tirana noted that Veliaj is being “eliminated from within,” a process reminiscent of the “anti-party groups” purged during Albania’s communist era.
The case underscores the central role of Prime Minister Rama. Although he has publicly framed the dismissal as a matter of good governance, critics argue the decision is politically motivated and selectively applied. Other mayors under investigation have not faced the same treatment, raising questions about double standards. The sequence of events—including the timing of Rama’s remarks on Veliaj’s legal troubles, the removal of Veliaj’s allies from city hall, and the imposition of Rama’s own appointees—suggests a carefully orchestrated strategy.
The Veliaj affair exposes deep vulnerabilities in Albania’s fragile rule of law. The prolonged pre-trial detention without a final verdict has already drawn criticism from legal experts who warn it may violate basic human rights norms. Meanwhile, the attempt to remove a directly elected mayor while he remains in custody highlights the blurred lines between judicial measures and political maneuvering.
For Rama, the dismissal neutralizes a once-powerful rival and clears the way for Manastirliu to take over the capital. For Berisha and the opposition, it is an opportunity both to highlight Veliaj’s alleged corruption and to attack Rama’s handling of the process. For Veliaj, it marks a dramatic fall from grace—from rising star to political outcast.
But for Albania’s democracy, the episode raises a larger question: whether due process and institutional integrity can withstand the weight of political expediency.
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