TIRANA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 55 Albanian Members of the Parliament (MPs) representing the ruling Socialist majority officially started the procedure to dismiss President Ilir Meta for allegedly violating the Constitution of Albania by canceling the voting date for local elections, Head of the Parliamentary group of the Socialist Party Taulant Balla told reporters on Monday.

Balla held a press conference and explained to the reporters that 55 lawmakers had made the request for a no-confidence vote on Meta.

According to Balla, the request will go to a special parliamentary commission before a parliament vote.

Balla said that if the motion is supported by at least 94 votes, which the ruling Socialists do not have, it will then be passed to the Constitutional Court that will have the final say on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court in Albania is out of function for about a year. Most of the court's judges have been dismissed due to the justice reform that is being implemented in the country.

The official decision of Meta to cancel June 30 local elections in Albania, made public at a press conference last week, spurred debates, with the ruling Socialist majority accusing Meta of breaking the law.

Meta stated the arguments over his decision to cancel a decree by which he had set June 30 as a local elections date, saying the "tense political situation would not provide the conditions for normal and fair elections in the country."

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama declared that the municipal elections will go ahead as scheduled and the Socialists are continuing the electoral campaign.

According to Rama, this decision will not prevent the Albanian citizens from the right to vote.

Since mid-February, Albanian opposition has organized several protests, of which some turned violent. The opposition lawmakers have resigned from their parliament seats, refusing to have dialogue with Rama, asking him and his cabinet to resign. Enditem

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