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Race for Tirana in 2027/ First ambitions announced, who are the possible candidates?
2026-04-03 14:01:00, AktualitetCNA
Although we are more than a year away from the 2027 local elections, the political scene in the capital has begun to boil. After passing the "emergency" phase that characterized the end of 2025, the main parties and independent candidates are positioning themselves for what is considered the "battle of all battles", the leadership of the Municipality of Tirana.
Within the pink camp, the situation is in flux. In the early elections that were expected to be held on November 9, 2025, but were then not held after President Bajram Begaj's decree for Tirana was overturned, the name of former minister Ogerta Manastirliu was thrown into the field as an emergency solution to ensure the continuity of the socialists in the capital, at a time when Mayor Erion Veliaj was behind bars.
The situation towards the next year for the SP is now calmer, while it seems that Manastirliu's name is still in play, as she remains the political leader for the Municipality of Tirana, while in the recent meetings held by the socialist leader Edi Rama with the Socialist Party Assemblies in Tirana, Manastirliu accompanies him to every meeting, which reinforces her name in the socialist camp for the upcoming elections.
However, with the waters calmed and the focus on 2027, Socialist MP Erion Braçe has openly declared that the SP is no longer in emergency conditions. Braçe has requested that the selection of the candidate be done through a statutory process and not through quick appointments, implying that he himself is ready to enter the race to offer what he calls a new governance model for the capital.
The situation has also evolved in the Democratic Party. After the 2025 elections, where actor Florian Binaj was presented as a figure who could unite the opposition, it is now expected to be discussed whether he will again be the DP's bet for Tirana in 2027.
On the other hand, physician Ilir Alimehmeti, who enjoys broad support within the structures and base, remains a strong option. Alimehmeti was the candidate who received a significant number of votes on the open list in the May 11, 2025 elections, but despite the results, he remained outside parliament.
The fact that he remained outside the Assembly has left him "free" from parliamentary obligations and he can focus all his energy and that of his supporters towards the race for the Municipality of Tirana in 2027. But it remains to be seen whether he will be supported by the Democrats to be the main opposition candidate in the country's first municipal elections.
In a reaction to CNA, he explained that he is ready, but expects the DP to determine the "rules of the game", i.e. the method of selecting candidates.
"I will personally do the maximum possible for our strength," Alimehmeti told CNA.
Unlike the end of 2025, when there was talk of early elections in Tirana, the decision to move forward normally towards 2027 has given the parties breathing space.
The DP no longer feels compelled to field independent candidates under the pressure of time. The PS has enough time to manage the "internal war" between the currents that demand a change in the mayor's profile. Tirana, with the largest budget in the country and the main political weight, is expected to see a race with many actors, where in addition to traditional parties, public figures from civil society or the academic world may also gain weight. /CNA
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