In the show “Te Paespozuarit” on MCN TV, the election of Fredi Beleri as a member of the European Parliament was discussed yesterday evening, while he is in Fier prison convicted of buying votes in the local elections on May 14, 2023.
For lawyer Eugen Beçi, this is a case that happens for the first time in Albania and it should be seen how it will be acted. According to him, the mayor in the Republic of Albania, based on the law on local government, cannot be a deputy, because it is an incompatible duty for the mayor to be a deputy.
“The people’s vote is interesting, regardless of the statements that the youngest member of the European Parliament can make defending the interests of his homeland, but from the procedural point of view it is a novelty, it is a new action.
For clarification regarding this situation, procedurally, it is a new case and it is the first time that such a situation has occurred, at least for the Republic of Albania, it is such a situation, which in itself has many question marks.
The first questions, does the role of the mayor conflict with the role of a member of parliament, even more MEP in the national case? The MEP, a imprisoned man, turned out to be what he is, and the Albanian people are responding that he is, because he was finally elected.
We have an elected mayor who has not been sworn in yet. He is in the prison of Albania, he is a defendant because the decision has not yet been finalized.
He is elected by another country as a member of the European Union, of the European Parliament, where Albania is not a member.
This is part of the case to solve. The Mayor in the Republic of Albania, based on the law on local government, cannot be a deputy. It is an incompatible duty for the mayor to be a deputy.
To the question of whether we should take it by analogy that the MEP has the same value as a member of the Parliament of Albania, Beci said that this remains to be clarified by the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania must decide whether the mayor’s role contradicts the role of the MEP, the Albanian legislation is clear, it contradicts, you cannot be a deputy and the mayor. This is the first question that the Constitutional Court must set in motion and give an answer.
Due to gaining immunity, his case is automatically dismissed, because it is one of the cases where the law provides that criminal prosecution cannot be carried out without removing immunity from parliament.
It remains to be seen the regulations that the European Union itself has on the immunity of the mandate of the deputies. Within the territory of the European Union and within the Parliament of the European Union, due to his function and the MEP, there is no immunity for various violations that he may commit. The European Parliament removes the immunity immediately if it finds a violation. Here we are in a still more sui generis case.
Here we have a person in prison, still unconvicted, according to the plans of the European Parliament. The constitution of the European Parliament takes place in September and until September, we may have a situation where the elected MEP can take the final decision and he becomes or returns to the condemned status. In the event that he returns to convicted status from a legal point of view, the immunity is not retroactive. He continues to remain convicted, but he can serve his sentence and enjoy his role as an MEP. Logically, he cannot be in prison and an MEP” – said Beçi.
