The High Prosecutorial Council rejected, by 6 votes against and 2 in favor, the request by Prosecutor General candidate Ylli Pjetërnikaj to remove HPC member Vat Staka from the evaluation of the competition. The decision came after several hours of a tense meeting, in a climate in which the Council itself is facing a chain of mutual recusal requests.
A 6-2 vote after a meeting marked by debate
According to the decision made public, Pjetërnikaj’s request did not pass and the majority of HPC members voted against removing Vat Staka from the evaluation procedure for the post of Prosecutor General.
The meeting lasted several hours and was accompanied by sharp debate, making even more visible the climate of confrontation within the institution that is supposed to guarantee standards of impartiality and credibility in the process.
Arta Marku’s request also on the table
At the same time, the HPC is also reviewing the request of the other candidate for Prosecutor General, Arta Marku, who is seeking the exclusion of member Sokol Stojani from these procedures.
This means that the debate over the impartiality of members has not been limited to a single case, but is affecting several of the key figures in decision-making within the Council.
A series of requests that has put the HPC in an unusual situation
Sunday’s meeting was held in an unusual context, as several recusal requests that have become intertwined with one another were placed before members.
Vat Staka has requested the exclusion of Zeqir Hoda. Hoda then requested the exclusion of Sokol Stojani, while the latter requested the exclusion of HPC chair Mirela Bogdani.
Claims over the impartiality of the HPC chair
In his request, Sokol Stojani raised claims of a lack of impartiality on the part of chair Mirela Bogdani.
According to this position, he is asking that Bogdani not take part in directing, reviewing, discussing, and voting on the recusal requests. The very fact that some members are calling into question the role of the Council’s chair adds further question marks over the way the procedure is being administered.
With the vote on Pjetërnikaj’s request, the HPC has issued a first decision in a series of objections that have complicated the competition for Prosecutor General.
What remains clear is that the process is unfolding under high institutional tension, with accusations of partiality and an agenda dominated by exclusions rather than the substance of the race.