Educator and activist Ermal Hasimja, who was a guest this Wednesday on the programme “Koha Jonë-Debat” hosted by Nikoll Lesi, stated that the elections for the Tirana Municipality, on 9 May 2027, will not be merely administrative, but a political confrontation between the opposition and Prime Minister Edi Rama.
“Citizens will vote against Rama or for Rama”, Hasimja said, stressing that the opposition needs a common candidate to represent this political battle. Asked whether he would run for the Tirana Municipality himself, Hasimja said he had considered this possibility, but does not want to become a fifth or sixth candidate that would deepen the division of the opposition.
Regarding suspicions that new opposition parties may be acting in Rama’s interest, he stated: “I do not believe that they are incited, paid or infiltrated by Rama”. According to Hasimja, an opposition victory in Tirana could trigger a crisis in the majority and open the way for early elections.
Excerpts from the conversation
Lesi: Why are you not running from the Protest for the Tirana Municipality?
Hasimja: What does the opposition need, the whole large anti-Rama, anti-government group, the Tirana race for? Does it simply need it to get in and take votes and fill the potholes of Tirana, clean up the garbage and manage traffic? Or does it need it for something else that is more important?
Lesi: If the opposition wins, the protest all together, the governing and the majority is over and we head toward early elections?
Hasimja: Exactly, and I think the upcoming elections in Tirana are not merely administrative, but political elections. In Tirana, on 9 May 2027, when people go to vote, the first criterion they will have in mind is that they will vote against Rama or for Rama. This matters because you cannot predetermine the candidates without considering what these candidates are needed for. You need a candidate to solve Tirana’s problems, or a candidate who will fight Rama.
Lesi: How is it possible that this opposition still does not say “This is our official candidate of everyone against Rama”, because otherwise Rama will win the elections in Tirana!
Hasimja: I believe there is time until January. And whoever comes will not be an unknown candidate.
Lesi: Why don’t you put your own name in the game, as long as you are trying to unite the pieces of the opposition?
Hasimja: I have considered it, but I am not ready to enter the race to be the 5th or 6th and fragment the opposition even further. Because unity cannot be taken and offered by me. The parties themselves must agree.