FLASH NEWS
2026-07-23 23:30:00 / POLITIKË
While citizens outside the assembly protested against a corrupt governing system, inside today's parliamentary session there were sparks of a tense conflict with rival clans in the Socialist Party, which was reflected in the vote for the new head of the Public Procurement Commission.
The issue in question has nothing to do with any concerns about the European Union integration process, as we are used to hearing often from the mouths of socialist officials; nor with any major project, nor with any urgent concerns about citizens' problems.
At the center of the conflict is a key institution for tenders where tens and hundreds of millions of euros circulate, a structure that gives power and money to whoever manages to control it, called the Public Procurement Commission.
With 78 votes in favor, 3 abstentions and 4 votes against, the Assembly elected Ismail Shehu as head of the KPP.
There were two other candidates in the race. Enea Hoti withdrew from the race, while Behar Zeneli's candidacy received only 2 votes in favor, 51 abstentions and 31 votes against.
But a source from within the Socialist Party told Lapsi.al that the vote was not a formality. The post of chairman of the Public Prosecutions Commission had been given to both Ulsi Manja and Bledi Çuçi, so to separate the wheat from the chaff, Prime Minister Edi Rama's intervention was needed.
The latter had to personally deal with the stubbornness that the former chairman of the SP parliamentary group, Bledi Çuçi, suddenly displayed and which could not be resolved until the last moments.
He had expressed his opposition to Ismail Shehu's candidacy, knowing that this was a candidacy of Ulsi Manja, and had warned that if Shehu's name was passed, he would not vote on any bill that required a qualified majority, thus jeopardizing the majority's agenda.
Precisely for this reason, the Speaker of the Parliament, Niko Peleshi, interrupted the session twice.
Only after a one-on-one conversation between Prime Minister Edi Rama and Bledi Çuçi, the situation was unblocked. After the meeting, Çuçi changed his position, participated in the vote, and the majority secured the necessary votes to approve Ismail Shehu's candidacy, as well as the draft acts that required a qualified majority.
Lapsi.al confirmed from an unconfirmed source that Ismail Shehu was the candidate supported by Ulsi Manja behind the scenes. Ranked first on the list of candidates, Shehu was Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice during the time it was headed by Manja.
On the other hand, Enea Hoti, who withdrew from the race at the last moment, was considered the candidate supported by Bledi Çuçi. Hoti is identified as one of the socialist MP's close associates, which also explains the reservations that, according to sources, Çuçi had towards the choice of Ismail Shehu.
The clash for the head of the Public Procurement Commission shows that behind the facade of the fight against corruption with public prosecutions, the race continues within the Socialist Party for control of institutions that have real influence over the administration of public money.
The Public Procurement Commission is the institution that reviews companies' complaints about procurement procedures and has the right to suspend, reject or force the review of large-value tenders. With a single decision, it can unblock or block public contracts worth tens of millions of euros, making it one of the most important nodes in the procurement system.
Precisely for this reason, the leadership of the KPP is seen as another "bite" of power in the battle between clans within the majority. The irony is that this internal war for the next loot is taking place while Edi Rama has promised that within his fourth mandate, 90% of procurement procedures will be carried out with artificial intelligence, reducing human intervention. But the fact that he personally intervenes in matters shows that no matter what artificial intelligence decides, Rama will have a hand in the pot, for any unexpected situation that may arise with millions of public money./Lapsi.al
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