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Budget 2026, Veliaj letter to the Municipal Council: It cannot be approved without consultation with the elected mayor, it would hinder the realization of my democratic mandate
2025-12-15 14:33:19 / POLITIKË
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has addressed a letter to the Tirana Municipal Council prior to the approval of the 2026 budget.
In the letter, Mayor Veliaj emphasizes that according to the law, they must take his opinion, as approval without consulting the Elected Mayor constitutes a deviation from local government standards and an obstacle to the realization of his democratic mandate.
Full letter:
Honorable members of the City Council,
I address you in my constitutional and legal capacity as elected Mayor of the Municipality of Tirana, to ask you, prior to review and approval, to consult and obtain my institutional opinion and will on the draft budget of the Municipality of Tirana for 2026.
On December 18, the municipal council is expected to review and approve the draft budget of the Municipality of Tirana for 2026. This moment constitutes the most important financial and political act of the year for a municipality, as the budget is the main instrument for the realization of the political mandate of the Mayor, a mandate given directly by the citizens of Tirana.
I would like to remind you that, according to Law No. 139/12015 “On Local Self-Government”, as amended, Law No. 68/2017 “On Local Self-Government Finance”, as amended, the legal framework for managing the budget system in the Republic of Albania, as well as the consolidated practice of local self-government, the budget proposal is an exclusive attribute of the Mayor. Any budget that is approved without real and substantial consultation with the elected Mayor cannot be considered an expression of the political will of the citizens, but only a formal administrative act, stripped of democratic legitimacy.
The current situation is particularly worrying. The implementation of the 2025 budget is in an alarming state, with a very low level of implementation, in stark contrast to the historical implementation rates that the Municipality of Tirana has had during the normal exercise of my mandate. This is a clear indication of the institutional paralysis that is being inflicted on the Municipality of Tirana.
Under these conditions, approving the 2026 budget without consulting the elected Mayor would constitute not only a deviation from local government standards, but also a continuation of the difficult situation that impedes the realization of my democratic mandate, directly violating the governing priorities approved by the citizens of Tirana.
For these reasons, I formally request that, prior to the review and approval of the 2026 draft budget:
1. The Municipal Council should conduct institutional consultation with the Mayor of Tirana, so that the budget reflects the political and programmatic priorities for which the citizens voted for me;
2. To consider that any public hearing held without the participation or confirmation of the elected President cannot replace this consultation, as it does not carry democratic legitimacy;
3. To assess that the approval of the draft budget without being proposed and confirmed by me would, in essence, institutionalize the exclusion of the elected President from exercising his constitutional functions.
This request is directly related to respecting the will of the citizens and preventing a precedent, where the elected monocratic body is replaced de facto, in the most political act of the year, by temporarily appointed or delegated structures. A budget approved under these conditions, despite the fact that there is already a decision of the Constitutional Court for my continuation in office, would objectively reflect the fact that the elected Mayor is being hindered in the exercise of his mandate, with serious consequences not only for local government, but also for the local democratic order and the autonomy of self-government.
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