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Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government and the prime minister with its Cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Albania. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system of Albania is laid out in the 1998 constitution.[1] The Parliament adopted the current constitution on 28 November 1998. Historically Albania has had many constitutions. Initially constituted as a monarchy in 1913, Albania became briefly a republic in 1925, and then a authoritarian monarchy in 1928. In 1939 Albania was invaded by Fascist Italian forces, imposing a puppet state, and later occupied by Nazi German forces. Following the partisan liberation from the Nazis in 1944 a provisional government was formed, which by 1946 had transformed into a communist one-party state.[2] In March 1991 democracy was restored with multi-party elections.[3]
The president represents the unity of the Albanian people in the country and abroad as the head of state and is also the commander-in-chief of the military.[4] The president is nominated through a secret vote and without debate by the Parliament of Albania by a majority of three-fifths of all its members and is in every case elected for five years.[5] The president maintains regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of Albania and appoints prime ministers on the basis of the balance of power in the Parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president after each parliamentary election and must have the confidence of the Parliament stay in office. The prime minister is elected on the basis of universal suffrage, through a secret ballot, for a four-year term. The constitution sets no limit as to office terms of the prime minister. The prime minister is de facto the most powerful and influential person in Albanian politics. However, in the absence of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister takes over his functions, such as chairing the cabinet and the council of ministers of Albania.
The Parliament is a unicameral legislative body of Albania. It is vested in both the government as well as in the parliament. The number of representatives is 140, which are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The oldest parliament with extant records was held on 2 March 1444, forged in Lezhë under Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu as the leader against the Ottoman Empire.[6] Since 1991, the introduction of pluralism, the party system is dominated by the Democratic and the post-communist Socialist. Parliamentary elections are held every four years, the most recent in 2021. In April 2021 parliamentary election, ruling Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, secured its third consecutive victory, winning nearly half of votes and enough seats in parliament to govern alone.[7] In February 2022, Albania's Constitutional Court overturned parliament's impeachment of President Ilir Meta, opponent of the ruling Socialist Party.[8]
Albania is a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and also an official candidate for membership in the European Union.[9]
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Albania a "flawed democracy" in 2022,[10] with "free and fair elections" in place.[11][12][needs update]
- ^ Carlson, Scott. "The Drafting Process for the 1998 Albanian Constitution" (PDF). usip.org. p. 311. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
- ^ The Constitutions of the Communist World (William B. Simons ed.). BRILL, 1980. January 1980. p. 2. ISBN 9028600701. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ Fred C. Abrahams (March 2016). Modern Albania: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Europe. NYU Press. p. 94. ISBN 9781479838097.
- ^ Albania in Pictures (Tom Streissguth ed.). Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. August 2010. p. 37. ISBN 9780761363781. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA". osce.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
The President of the Republic is elected by the Assembly by secret ballot and without debate by a majority of three-fifths of all its members.
- ^ "Kuvendi i Lezhës (1444)". letersia.fajtori.com (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
- ^ "Albania PM hails 'most difficult but sweetest' election win". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
- ^ "Albania court overturns president's impeachment". The Independent. 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Albania applies for EU membership". BBC News. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^ solutions, EIU digital. "Democracy Index 2016 - The Economist Intelligence Unit". www.eiu.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ "State of democracy in Albania sees slight improvement". Euractiv. 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-04-07.