What Albania could learn from Sejdiu’s resignation

TIRANA TIMES

TIRANA, Sep. 27 – Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu resigned from his post Monday after the country’s Constitutional Court found he violated the country’s constitution by holding the president’s office and the leadership of his party simultaneously.
The move is a potential lesson to politicians in neighboring Albania because it showed how a leader can follow the rules properly and resign in respect of other institutions.
Sejdiu said his decision was taken to “respect the institutions and the decisions taken by them.” He said he did not feel he violated the constitution but the court “thought otherwise.”
“I will respect that,” Sejdiu said. “It is in the interest of Kosovo and its citizens.”
Albania, and likely many other countries in this area cannot remember another president resigning from his post in respect of a court decision.
Usually the presidents can be taken away from their posts only if they make grave violations of the constitution or go insane.
Neither of these reasons are true in the case of Sejdiu.
Sejdiu, 59, is the head of the Democratic League of Kosovo, the party of iconic late pacifist President Ibrahim Rugova, which is part of the ruling coalition. Sejdiu was Kosovo’s first president since the territory seceded from Serbia in 2008, despite strong objections from Belgrade.
Has Albania had any similar example during the last two post-communist decades? Hardly so. Only Fatos Nano, former head of the opposition Socialists, actually resigned from his posts after he lost the elections.
Sejdiu had come under pressure from within his party to break ranks with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, after European Union police raided the offices of the transport minister, who is suspected of embezzling public funds.
The speaker of the parliament, Jakup Krasniqi will temporarily replace the president.
The court’s decision is a landmark ruling for Kosovo’s justice system, which is criticized by international monitors of being influenced by corrupt officials and organized crime.
Three of the nine members of the court are international judges appointed by the European Court of Human Rights and the top EU official in Kosovo, Peter Feith.
Albania also has a Constitutional Court with nine members. That court has taken or issued a lot of verdicts but not all of those linked to the governing political party have been applied or respected.
Respect of the court’s verdicts remains a top and main shortcoming along its integration efforts into the European Union.
Whether we like it or not, Kosovo showed better respect for the law than Albania has.
Albania’s political leaders should really raise their hat to Sejdiu and the Kosovo Constitutional Court for the way they behaved. They should also try to learn how to respect the laws like Sejdiu did.