Socialist MP Erion Braçe has publicly articulated a demand that touches on how decisions are made in the Socialist Party: in his view, the candidate for the Municipality of Tirana should emerge from an internal contest and not from a decision imposed from above. In the same appearance, he also spoke about political pressure inside Parliament and the situation in the capital.
Call for an internal contest in the Socialist Party
Braçe said he has asked the Socialist Party to hold an internal contest for the selection of the candidate for the Municipality of Tirana.
He insisted that he will stand by this position to the end, placing the emphasis on a competitive process within the party rather than on appointments decided in advance.
Pressure to speak along the political line
The Socialist MP also raised direct criticism of the political climate, saying that pressure to line up with the positions of the sides comes from both wings of Parliament.
According to him, the party leadership and the government also often demand that majority officials speak in the same way, while on the other side there is the same pressure to enter into the logic of political confrontation. Braçe said his choice is to express what he thinks, even when this runs counter to the expectations of his own camp.
Comment on the situation in Tirana and the protests
Speaking about developments in the capital, Braçe acknowledged that what is happening directly affects citizens’ daily lives, creating fear, delays and insecurity in ordinary life.
He said the legitimate interests of residents should become part of the government’s and the parliamentary majority’s reflection, but at the same time called for a distinction to be made between what he described as violence and demands that, according to him, have a legitimate basis.
What he would change in the capital
Asked what he would change in Tirana, Braçe gave a direct answer: cleanliness.
According to him, the capital is very dirty, an assessment that touches on one of the most sensitive problems of urban administration and quality of life in the city.
His response about Zegjine
When asked about Zegjine, Braçe chose not to go into personal or broader political comment.
He said he does not speak about women and linked his reservation also to the fact that the professional field of the person he was asked about is far from his own profession as an economist. He also underlined that this is a first mandate in Parliament, recalling that he himself went through the same phase at the start of his political career.
Braçe’s statements once again bring attention to the debate over how candidates are selected in the major parties and how much real space there is for internal competition, especially when it comes to Tirana.
On the political level, his message is read as a distancing from forced party uniformity and as a signal that within the majority there are voices seeking more internal debate, not only obedience to the official line.