Erion Veliaj has signed a new order revoking Anuela Ristani’s delegation to lead the Municipality of Tirana, removing her from the role of acting mayor. The document presents the move as the result of a change in institutional circumstances, but the text goes further, mentioning a lack of coordination, failure to implement court decisions, and refusal of direct orders.
What the new order provides
In the order signed by the mayor of Tirana, the previous act on the temporary delegation of the mayor’s duties is revoked. As a result, Anuela Ristani no longer exercises the delegated powers to run the municipality.
The document also states that the responsible structures of the Municipality of Tirana are tasked with the immediate implementation of the order, which enters into force immediately and is to be publicly posted.
How the decision is justified
According to the official version, the delegation order dated February 14, 2025 was a temporary instrument, put in place to guarantee administrative continuity and the functioning of services under the conditions created during that period.
The reasoning states that the mandate of the elected mayor has continued legally and that this has been recognized in two rulings of the Constitutional Court. According to the document, the latest decision of that court has definitively clarified the continuity of the mandate and the authority deriving from it.
Institutional accusations against Ristani in the text of the order
The strongest part of the document is not tied only to legal interpretation. The order claims that after the latest ruling of the Constitutional Court, a progressive detachment in the exercise of delegated powers from the authority of the elected mayor was observed.
Among the claims listed are a lack of institutional information-sharing and coordination, failure to implement court decisions, as well as failure to implement or refusal of the mayor’s direct orders. The published text of the document does not provide specific details identifying those decisions or orders.
Why it carries political and administrative weight
The order presents delegation as a power temporary in nature and dependent on the authority of the body that grants it, underlining that it cannot become an autonomous source of leadership within the municipality.
In this reading, the clash does not appear merely procedural. The text signed by Veliaj describes the situation as an impairment of the chain of responsibility and institutional leadership, turning the decision into an act with direct consequences for the functioning of the administration of the Municipality of Tirana.
With this act, Anuela Ristani officially loses the right to exercise the delegated powers of the mayor of Tirana.
The way the order is worded shows that the issue is not being presented only as an administrative reorganization, but as a clash over authority, implementation of decisions, and institutional control within the municipality.