State and party mandates should be limited

2026-01-07 20:11:00, Editorial Sherefedin Shehu

Some thoughts that I would present at the January 9th roundtable, organized by the Democratic Party.

Cooperation roundtable organized with opposition political parties, civil society representatives and trade unions.

By Sherefedin Shehu

Appreciating the commitment of the Democratic Party to the open dialogue "Solutions for Albania", in the absence of physical participation, I am expressing the following opinions:

A promising solution for creating a democratic system in Albania and restoring citizen trust in politics would be to limit the political mandates of state and political party leaders. I see this as the key to the solution because:

a) Albania failed to become a functional democracy,

b) State-forming history and democratic culture in Albania are lacking,

c) Political parties do not guarantee internal democracy,

d) Political morality does not exist, and

e) Politics and governance have been significantly influenced by criminal segments.

Although this solution seems anti-democratic, legal and regulatory norms are widely recommended in imposing improvements in public administration in countries where institutions are not effective and accountability and democratic culture are lacking. Limiting mandates in the state and party political system in Albania, I think, constitutes an emergency to guarantee democracy in the governance of the country, internal party democracy and the missing political rotation. The limitations and their dimensions could be as follows:

a) 2 consecutive or different mandates in time for the Speaker of the Assembly, the Prime Minister, the President and the Chairmen of Political Parties.

b) No more than 4 mandates for members of the Assembly of Albania.

The limitation on the Prime Minister and the Chairmen of Political Parties is seemingly antidemocratic, but referring to the factors listed above and based on international experiences, Parliamentary republics are practically Prime Ministerial republics. The same applies to the limitation of the mandate of the Chairmen of Political Parties.

The recommended restrictions should be made based on a broad political agreement and possibly through constitutional amendments. Failing that, amendments to the relevant laws could also be made, perhaps for the heads of political parties.

These proposals should be considered for implementation after the formation of the technical Government and the holding of general elections, as their immediate implementation would create a vacuum in the fight to overthrow this corrupt Government and manage the short-term political transition and general elections that are mandatory in the situation created during last year's elections and the open investigations into corruption in the governing dome./CNA