The Venice Commission supports extending the vetting bodies’ terms. International experts believe that the plan to modify the constitution fits the conditions that would warrant the Independent Qualification Commission and the Public Commissioner’s terms being extended by two and a half years, according to a preliminary opinion delivered to Tirana.
Following this preliminary draft, the Venice Commission is expected to hold a plenary session on December 12 to endorse the final opinion, after which the parliamentary procedure for amending the constitution will begin.
The International Monitoring Operation requested the extension of the vetting body, which was enthusiastically supported by the US Embassy. This document is supposed to constitute the legislative majority’s argument for persuading the opposition to unite behind the constitutional reform.
The term of the Independent Qualification Commission and the Public Commissioner expires on June 17, 2022, according to the timetable, while the majority plan pushes that period back to December 31, 2024.