TIRANA (Albania), May 30 (SeeNews) – The Albanian parliament failed to elect a new president of the country on Wednesday due to lack of consensus between the ruling majority and the opposition.
The parliamentary law committee said earlier that no candidacy had been submitted for the post and therefore the first round of voting is considered completed, local broadcaster ABC News reported on its website.
During the session on Wednesday, parliamentary speaker Jozefina Topalli invited the leaders of all parliamentary groups to a meeting to set a date for the second round of voting.
Under Albania's constitution, the president is elected by parliament in a secret vote without a preceding debate. Candidates should be nominated by at least 20 MPs. To be elected, a candidate needs to be backed by three-fifths of all MPs. In case parliament fails to elect a president in three rounds of voting, another two rounds are held where the candidate is elected with a simple majority. If they too prove unsuccessful, parliament is dissolved and general elections are called.
Albania's president has a five-year mandate. The incumbent president, Bamir Topi, was elected in 2007 and his term expires in July.
The Democratic Party is the biggest party in Albania's parliament, holding 68 of all 140 seats.