Political system of Albania

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Political system of Albania

The political system of Albania is a parliamentary republic . Albania has a unicameral parliament . The constitution of December 28, 1976 was repealed in April 1991. At the same time, the “ People's Socialist Republic of Albania ” was renamed “ Republic of Albania ”. On November 28, 1998, a new constitution was adopted by referendum .

Core pieces of this Constitution which is still in force, are a multi-party system and the guarantee of expression , religion , press , assembly and freedom of association .

The official seat of the president, the parliament building, the government seat and the constitutional court building are all located in the capital Tirana .

Head of state

The Presidenca in Tirana , the official residence of the President

The head of state is the president . This office has been held by Ilir Meta since July 24, 2017 .

Together with the Prime Minister , the President exercises control over the armed forces . The Parliament elects the president by a majority of three fifths of its members in a secret ballot for a period of five years. For the choice which of at least 20 is allowed deputies supported. The office of President is limited to a maximum of two periods of five years each. The President then appoints the Prime Minister on the proposal of a majority of MPs. If Parliament cannot agree on a proposal in three attempts, the President has the right to dissolve Parliament.

Foreign relations and security matters are dealt with together with the Prime Minister. In addition to these tasks, the President is, as is usual in parliamentary systems, restricted to ceremonial or representative functions . To be able to hold the office of president, the applicant must have lived in Albania for at least the last ten years and be at least 40 years old at the time of election . In the case of representation, the President of Parliament takes over the President 's office.

houses of Parliament

The Parliament building in Tirana

Albania has a unicameral system ; Besides parliament, there is no other body such as the Senate, House of Lords or Federal Council. The Kuvendi i Shqipërisë comprises 140 members . The legislative period is four years. The deputies are on lists via proportional representation chosen. The threshold clause was originally set at 2.5% for parties and 4% for coalitions , but was increased to 3% and 5% respectively by a constitutional amendment in 2008.

The main tasks of Parliament are to legislate, propose to the President for the office of Prime Minister and approve the Prime Minister appointed by the President and the Ministers proposed by the Prime Minister .

The current parliament was elected on June 25, 2017 . The former government under Edi Rama was re-elected. The Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë (PS) now provides the second Rama cabinet .

Gramoz Ruçi (PS) has been President of Parliament since 2017 .

Parties and citizens' groups

Demonstration of miners in front of the Prime Minister's seat (2007)

In Albania, the party system has polarized strongly towards the two camps since the introduction of a deeper threshold clause in 2009. The largest parties that are also represented in parliament include the social democratic Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë (PS), the conservative Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë (PD), the social democratic Lëvizja Socialiste për Integrim (LSI), the nationalist Partia për Drejtësi, Integrim dhe Unitet (PDIU) and the social democratic Partia Socialdemokrate e Shqipërisë (PSD).

MJAFT is one of the most important citizens' initiatives ! .

government

Ministry building on Skanderbeg Square in Tirana

In addition to the president, the executive branch consists of the prime minister and the individual ministers . Edi Rama (re-elected in 2017) has been the Albanian Prime Minister since 2013 .

In addition to being responsible for the respective departments , the cabinet is responsible for those tasks that have not already been assigned to a constitutional body , another authority or a local level. The content-related objectives of the legislative period are set by the Prime Minister ( authority to issue guidelines ).

Further tasks of the Prime Minister are the representation of the government and the chairing of government meetings, the responsibility for the political implementation of the goals set by him, the coordination and control of the work of his ministers and the administrative authorities as well as the fulfillment of other tasks assigned by the constitution or law.

Any MP can be nominated as Prime Minister. The office of Prime Minister is incompatible with other government functions or the leadership or membership in for-profit organizations.

Constitutional Court

The constitutional court ( Albanian  Gjykata Kushtetuese ) consists of nine judges . Three of them are appointed by the President , three are elected by Parliament and three are elected by the Supreme Court . Members are selected from a list of candidates by the Judiciary Appointment Council. The task of the Constitutional Court is to guarantee the constitution and its interpretation . The constitutional judges are in office for nine years without the possibility of re-election.

Prerequisites for holding this office are a high school diploma in the judiciary and the exercise of the post of judge, public prosecutor, lawyer, professor or law teacher for at least 15 years. A third of the judges are reappointed every three years. The President of the Constitutional Court is elected by the judges of the Constitutional Court. The maximum age of a constitutional judge is set at 70 years. The decisions of the Constitutional Court require a majority of its members.

The following are entitled to take legal action:

  • the president
  • the prime minister
  • a fifth of the members of parliament
  • Ombudsman
  • dishes
  • President of the high state control
  • Commissions for the Protection of Rights and Freedoms
  • High Council of Justice and High Council of Prosecutors
  • Organs of local governments
  • religious communities
  • political parties
  • Organizations
  • Individuals

Under certain conditions, a judge can be removed from office by the constitutional court.

Bashkim Dedja (* 1970) has been President of the Constitutional Court since 2009 .

Regional administration

The Republic of Albania is administratively divided into twelve Qarqe ("Regions") and 61 municipalities . The respective Qark councils are composed of the mayors of the municipalities in the area ( Bashkia ). The Qark has certain local tasks to fulfill in Albania. Many areas of health, education, culture, regional planning, the environment and the economy fall under this administrative body.

Current developments

Police presence during anti-government protests on January 21, 2011

The current politics of Albania is mainly influenced by its efforts to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures. Since joining NATO on April 1, 2009, joining the European Union is the main goal of Albanian politics ( see also: Albania and the European Union ). The most important achievements on the way so far are the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, which also entered into force on April 1, 2009, as well as the acquisition of candidate status on June 24, 2014.

Everyday political life in Albania is overshadowed by relapses, corruption scandals and the like. There is partly a polarization between the two largest political parties, the Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë (PS) and the Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë (PD). This division into two rival blocs was most recently expressed in a political crisis in Albania that lasted from 2009 to 2013 . After the parliamentary elections in June 2009 , the opposition socialists, especially their chairman Edi Rama , accused the conservative PD government of election fraud . Due to a lack of willingness to compromise and dialogue, as is often the case in Albania, the crisis then deepened and was only partially overcome in September 2011. Among other things, the PS boycotted almost every session in the plenary hall of parliament until September 2011, and the local elections in May 2011 were overshadowed by a number of irregularities. At the latest with the parliamentary elections in June 2013 and the subsequent appearance of a new PS-led government, this political crisis, which paralyzed politics in the country for several years, will be over.

One of the greatest challenges that the new government is currently facing is a major reform of the judiciary and, in some cases, the associated fight against corruption . New authorities to be set up, including a special public prosecutor's office, should guarantee the transparency and independence of the judiciary. Work is also being done to fight organized crime more effectively .

In addition, other domestic political events are of great importance for the future of Albania. Among the most important here are the case law of those responsible for the Gërdec explosions in 2008 , the case law of those responsible for the three dead in the anti-government demonstration on January 21, 2011 and some allegations of corruption against leading politicians such as Ilir Meta (January 2011), Fatmir Mediu (2008) and Lulzim Basha (during his tenure as Transport Minister between 2005 and 2007).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Albania: Political System . Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Nations of the World: A political, economic & business handbook , 2008, p. 9.
  3. ^ Constitution, Article 86
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Constitution of the Republic of Albania. (PDF) 1998, accessed on January 20, 2016 (English). . Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  5. ↑ Overview of the electoral system of the Republic of Albania . Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  6. ^ Schmidt-Neke, Michael: The political system of Albania, in: Ismayr, Wolfgang (ed.) (2010): The political systems of Eastern Europe, 3rd, actual. u. exp. Ed., Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 1007-1053: 1026.
  7. ↑ Official website of the Constitutional Court. Retrieved September 16, 2011 (Albanian, unknown language, English).
  8. ^ Walter Glos, Evelyn Klöss: Rule of law and legal policy developments in Albania. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung , June 6, 2016, accessed on June 9, 2016 .