Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good evening! Today we are here to celebrate an anniversary, the 105th anniversary of the capital, but at the same time, we are in a paradox because the elected mayor of the capital, chosen by a quarter of a million voters to lead the city and fulfill his contract with the citizens of Tirana, is absent.

I don’t know, and it is not for me to say whether Erion is innocent or guilty, but what I do know is that the presumption of innocence for someone elected to hold an office is not just an obligation towards them, as it is for every individual, from anyone responsible for handling matters related to justice.

Today we find ourselves in a situation where we’re dealing with a case in which there is no accusation of corruption nor an investigation into an accusation of corruption, but an investigation into a person. This is not an investigation into an accusation of corruption; it is an investigation into a person, the life of a man, his family, as a result of a document with dozens and dozens of anonymous pages filed in February of last year.

I am not implying anything, but I am saying that, for me, this is not normal. There is no flagrancy, there is no crime in front of which an immediate response should be taken, there is no urgency, there is no social danger. There is an investigation into the life of the mayor. Whether this situation fits within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, it is not for me to say, but the reasonable suspicion is that it is outside the bounds of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania.

We are in a very delicate situation, not for us, in the political aspect, not for us, in the aspect of our relationship with the justice system, and I repeat, it is not up to me, nor to us, and it is not for the people to hear us say whether Erion is guilty or innocent. That is for the justice system to decide.

However, we will raise many questions and many doubts, not just about this case, but for many other cases to come, by supporting justice, supporting its independence, but at the same time demanding rights.

Today, we are in a situation where everything risks degenerating into activist justice. And in this space, there are those who shout “guillotine for everyone,” “Hosanna,” as if it doesn’t matter whether there is evidence or not, whether it’s true or not. What matters is that anyone involved in politics, anyone who exposes themselves, anyone who makes themselves available for this job is a criminal, a thief who should be hanged. On the other hand, there are the enemies of justice reform who, every day and every night, attack the prosecutors of SPAK and the judges of the Special Court. These are the two extremes.

We cannot be on either of the two extremes, and we can no longer leave this void; we must demand accountability. Not by saying who is guilty and who is innocent, but by demanding accountability.

If Erion Veliaj and his wife have bought a dress and jewelry worth over 800 thousand euros, there is nothing more to discuss, but we have the right to ask for evidence—evidence. And we have the right to point out that, in the meantime, releasing this figure into the media was clearly intentional, aiming to stir up the masses who are seeking a target, and on the other hand, to create a situation where it becomes impossible to have a reasonable discussion. In any case, we will follow this process very closely.

Tirana! Tirana, let me now talk about Tirana: three days ago, I met one of the most prominent event organizers because we need assistance for the upcoming events we have ahead. We have the European Political Community coming to Tirana, with all the leaders of the European continent from London to Baku, from Oslo to Ankara—47 leaders coming to Tirana for the European Political Community Day. We have the NATO Summit. NATO is coming to Tirana, all the leaders, including the President of the United States, 5,000 people. We have the World Congress of Law coming to Tirana, thousands of people, and we absolutely must organize everything properly.

I’m telling you, there was a moment when I was almost embarrassed to listen to what he was saying. A person who joins a small group of people running big companies, organizing events all around the world for Tirana. Surprised as someone experiencing something for the first time, he had no idea at all, and this took me back—just like it always does when I hear people speak this way—to my first meeting with a foreign journalist, an Italian journalist, when I was the Minister of Culture. She told me: “I’m really sorry, there’s no way to take a photograph here that you can show people, saying ‘Look how beautiful it is,’ unless you lower the camera down the mountain and capture whatever you can in the city.”

That was Tirana. And today, Tirana is in a process of transformation and will become something extraordinary when the projects are completed. But for that to happen, we must work very hard. I also had some meetings within 24 hours with the leaders and deputy leaders of the municipality. And I’ve told you that we cannot stop fulfilling our contract with the citizens here. Tirana must shine!

I have great confidence that with the girls and boys, I agree with Professor Pllumi, those who are here today, yesterday the few I met had a bit of confusion in their eyes, but today, they were shining. Today, those I met didn’t yet have the full shine in their eyes, but I’m confident that tomorrow morning, all of them will have sparkling eyes, and they will all do the right thing. Because, aside from everything else, I believe that, despite the irreplaceable role of the leader, Tirana is an institution, a mechanism capable of handling much of the work automatically.

This would have been unimaginable at a time when there were no photographs. It would have been unimaginable. When I first entered the Municipality of Tirana, I was reminded of this yesterday. When I entered, I couldn’t even see the end of the corridor from the other side, as it was filled with cigarette smoke. You couldn’t see anything, only the noise in the smoke, like one of those Sorrentino films. So, I won’t go on any longer. I’ve talked more than I should have. As always, it’s a pleasure for me to be here. This wasn’t planned, but I told the deputy mayors that I’ve been a mayor—maybe not as skilled as your mayor—but still, today that, Tirana and Albania have taken all the pigment from my hair and everything else. I still have something I can contribute in support of them.

So, we’ll meet regularly, we’ll discuss regularly, and we’ll plan regularly. You will plan, and I will simply say, “This is not good, this is good,” as always. And then, together with all the members of parliament from Tirana, all the municipality employees, and the entire power network of Tirana, we’ll make sure that the summer season will be spectacular and the sweetest continuation of the spring season.

Naturally, thanks to what happened yesterday, it’s clear to me that I too must be here in Tirana with the entire Tirana team. And there’s no doubt that on May 11, Tirana will provide Albania with the largest number of parliamentarians from the country’s strongest political force.

Thank you.