ALB
ENG
The majority elected the interim Prosecutor General on its own, while the opposition failed to prevent it. What was discussed among political circles and media news rooms that the 41 year old lawyer, Arta Marku would be the new Prosecutor General, became a reality yesterday in Parliament when the voting ended with 69 votes in favor, 2 votes against and 2 abstains. But what did Marku’s election as new Prosecutor General prove? The first thing that that caught the eye was when she appeared in front of MPs, inside a noisy parliament where the opposition was protesting with smoke grenades and launching chants against this election, and the only phrase that was heard from her mouth, “I swear”, was said in a state of tension. The election of the head of the prosecution had always been associated with solemnity, but this time, it wasn’t and this was unprecedented. So, Arta Marku became the first prosecutor in history who is elected amid an ongoing protest. Although she may remain in office for a very short time, she now has in her possession strong evidence that relate to pending cases such as that of the former minister of Interior, Saimir Tahiri, but also cases relating to former ministers and senior officials of the Democratic Party, starting with CEZ and so on.
However, we’re now in front of a fact that Arta Marku was elected the 8th Prosecutor General in the history of this institution since the fall of communism. Her only public appearance was yesterday during the hearing in front of the law committee, where she gave the reasons why she joined the race and what she is expecting to do. Mrs. Marku said:
“I chose to be part of the race, because I see the a Prosecution in chaos and I have the ability to turn the system to normality until the High Board of Prosecutors and the Special Prosecution are set up. Prosecutors are discouraged because truth be told, appointments, transfers and promotions are not based on merit. This is sad because the system has prosecutors with integrity, who can offer the system a lot”.
But, the biggest pledge that Arta Marku made was addressed to politicians. Although nobody asked her, she made a public pledge which has never been made up until today.
“I am also running for this post to improve my CV, because this is the biggest achievement of the career of a prosecutor, although this mandate is temporary. But I also think that the system needs to be shaken in its foundations. The system needs people like me, without any support as the head of this institution. I am convinced on one thing: I don’t accept any political interventions. I have never accepted and I have never been intimidated by anyone throughout my career. I have come thus far thanks to my abilities”.
But, what needs to be discussed is the behavior of the opposition. This was its first test since the defeat in the June elections and as such, all political elements were mixed there. It was like a big test that showed once again that the protest was started by Lulzim Basha, but is continued by Sali Berisha. We saw images of the former prime minister and former president who remained in office for two terms in each post. The 73 year old was trying to occupy the podium and the physical resistance of the guards, showed one more time that he remains not only the exclusive mastermind of the action undertaken by the Democratic Party and the opposition. He is the main promoter of the protests, while during the culminating moments when the opposition was clashing with the guards, several opposition MPs were having coffee in the bars around parliament. The other detail is that the biggest opponents of the electoral campaign, the DP and SMI, joined forces. The objective that joined them in the protest was bigger than any disagreement. However, although Monika Kryemadhi exceeded Basha in terms of protagonism, it seemed that there was no coordination between DP and SMI. This was confirmed by the fact that Kryemadhi was against Berisha’s declaration that the opposition was going to give up its seats in Parliament. Although the SP and DP fear the reform in justice, the Prosecutor General and SPAK, SMI seems to be the biggest loser. Positioned like a sandwich between SP and DP, SMI is going through bigger tests than the two large parties. If the SP and DP wait each other for 8 years, what is SMI waiting for? To make things clear, in this situation, both Rama and Basha are trying to eliminate SMI, therefore, this party should take the necessary decisions. Being the third biggest party, it should make a smart move, which only Ilir Meta could make. But now, although he can instruct his wife, he cannot play a primary role. The biggest problem with SMI is apathy of leadership and Kryemadhi can feel this. It’s true that Floida Kërpaçi and Kejdi Mehmeti are two young women full of desire to throw themselves into action, today we could not see important figures of SMI such as Nasip Naço, Edmond Panariti, Edmond Haxhinasto and Lefter Koka. So, we can say that the day of the election of the Prosecutor General, Arta Marku, marked the start of the big political battle between SP, DP and SMI, which in fact is the biggest battle since the start of the reform in justice. Let us wait the other battles.
Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy
