In Albania, the EU Delegation called the parliament’s decision, which blocked the referral of MP and former Foreign Minister Olta Xhaçka's mandate to the Constitutional Court, "a step in the wrong direction." The American Embassy echoed the same concerns shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Elisa Spiropali announced that she had contacted the Venice Commission to resolve what many view as a stalemate between parliament and the Court over the issue of mandate incompatibility. However, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha described this action as an attempt to justify what he called an unconstitutional coup.

Unlike the previous two occasions, the socialists chose to abstain en masse, achieving the same result: preventing the Constitutional Court from reviewing Xhaçka’s mandate. The EU Delegation in Tirana expressed its concern, stating: "We have previously raised our concerns regarding the failure to implement certain Constitutional Court decisions, including in this case."

The American Embassy also voiced its agreement with the EU Delegation, criticizing parliament for "ignoring the Constitutional Court." In a Facebook post, the embassy added, "Governments and institutions must respect rules, laws, court decisions, and the constitution, which exist to ensure a healthy and thriving democracy."

The controversy over Xhaçka’s mandate dates back to June 2022, when opposition MPs submitted a motion to parliament, seeking to invalidate and terminate the former minister’s mandate. They argued that Xhaçka was in a conflict of interest, as her husband, former Socialist MP Artan Gaçi, had benefited from strategic investor status for the construction of a hotel on the Dhërmi coast. Xhaçka has repeatedly stated that she has not received any public funds and that her husband's investor status does not entail such benefits.

This case has led to a direct confrontation with the Constitutional Court, which has expressly requested that parliament refer the issue of mandate incompatibility to the Court. However, the socialist majority insists that MPs cannot be forced to vote in a specific way, as the constitution guarantees their freedom to vote.

Later in the day, Speaker of Parliament Elisa Spiropali responded to the EU Delegation and American Embassy’s statements, noting that "yesterday's vote demonstrated that the Constitutional Court's decision, issued a year and a half ago and most recently in July 2024, requires the clarification we have long sought. To resolve this ambiguity regarding the implementation of the Court’s decision, I have immediately turned to the Venice Commission, a body of unquestionable competence and prestige. Once we receive the relevant opinion, we will act without delay," Spiropali wrote on Twitter.

In her letter to the Venice Commission, Spiropali noted that, in her view, some of the Court's rulings on mandate incompatibility conflicted with one another. In five questions addressed to the Commission, she sought clarification on whether "MPs can be forced to vote in a specific way," the "standards for determining mandate incompatibility," and whether "the Constitutional Court can create a new constitutional norm unrelated to its interpretive competence, or introduce new categories of subjects not explicitly listed by the Constitution," referencing the right of 1/5 of the deputies to directly involve the Court.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha, speaking in a video message from his apartment where he is under house arrest, claimed that parliament's decision "effectively dismantled the Constitutional Court, without which the Constitution becomes meaningless." He called on the Venice Commission to "reject with disdain this trap to justify the constitutional coup that Edi Rama and the Xhafaj Commission carried out last night against the Constitutional Court." / VOA/