The Constitutional Court issued a decision late last night regarding the appeal filed by the government, which challenged the suspension from office of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, a decision previously taken by the Special Court against Organized Crime and Corruption.
In its statement to the media, the Constitutional Court announced that it had dismissed the government’s request and upheld the decision to suspend the Deputy Prime Minister from office. The panel of judges was divided in its opinion, with four votes in favor of the government’s appeal and four against it. Under Albanian legislation, an equal split of votes—four to four—automatically results in the rejection of the appeal.
As a consequence, the Constitutional Court has left in force the decision of the Special Court against Corruption, which ordered the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku from office.
From the moment the decision is issued and published in the Official Gazette, it enters into force automatically, suspending Belinda Balluku from both of her government functions. Under this ruling, she remains only a member of parliament for the Socialist Party representing the Fier electoral district.
The Albanian government had requested that the Constitutional Court overturn the decision of the Special Court against Corruption, arguing that the case involves a conflict between two branches of power, the executive and the judiciary. According to the government’s lawsuit, the court cannot obstruct the work of the government by suspending members of the cabinet without a final court ruling.
Following this decision, Balluku may continue pursuing the case at the second level of the judiciary, the Court of Appeal, which will decide whether the suspension measure will remain in force or not.
Meanwhile, in addition to the legal battle in the Constitutional Court, the Balluku case is also being debated in Parliament. A meeting of the Council on Mandates and Immunities of the Albanian Parliament is expected to be convened to discuss her parliamentary immunity following a request by the Special Prosecution. Beyond the suspension from office—already examined by the Constitutional Court—the Special Prosecution has also requested the lifting of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku’s immunity. She is accused by the Special Prosecution of violating equality in public procurement procedures. In this council, SPAK has requested the lifting of her immunity in order to impose measures of house arrest or pretrial detention.
Earlier, Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the Socialist majority would take a decision after becoming familiar with the ruling of the Constitutional Court.
