Gen. Maj. Bajram Begaj salutes the members of the Parliament after being elected as president, in the Parliament, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, June 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Franc Zhurda)
PERMET, Albania — Albania’s parliament on Saturday elected a top military official as the country’s new president after no candidates were nominated in three rounds of voting.
Gen.-Maj. Bajram Begaj won the post after the 140-seat Parliament voted 78 in favor, four against and one abstained.
The governing left-wing Socialist Party nominated and voted for Begaj, 55, after failing to reach a compromise with the opposition on a candidate to replace President Ilir Meta, and no independent candidate was nominated.
Most of the opposition boycotted the voting.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, center, congratulates the newly-elected President Bajram Begaj in the Parliament, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, June 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Franc Zhurda)
Begaj is post-communist Albania’s eighth president and the third from the military ranks. The five-year presidency has a largely ceremonial role and the chosen candidate is expected to stand above partisan divisions. The president holds some authority over the judiciary and the armed forces and is limited to two terms.
Begaj was elected among six candidates, according to Socialists’ leader and Prime Minister Edi Rama, adding that no candidates of the governing majority were taken into consideration.
“We gave Albania a normal president, an indisputable personality in his integrity, humanity and commitment for the country and its people,” Rama said.
Begaj was released from his army post in a decree from the president, who was on a visit Saturday to Turkey. Meta, who clashed regularly with the government, congratulated the new president. A handover ceremony is planned for July 24.
Begaj has been the army’s chief-of-staff since July 2020. Before that, he held several army posts, including ones in public and military hospitals, and trained in the U.S. on strategic medical leadership and defense management.
The European Union, the United States and other Western countries congratulated Begaj in his new post.
“We look forward to working together for a prosperous, secure and solid EU-#Albania relationship, as members of one European family,” tweeted EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
OSLO, Norway — A gunman opened fire in Oslo's night-life district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving 10 seriously wounded in what police are investigating as a possible terrorist attack during the Norwegian capital's annual Pride festival.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
O oceanic you sing and sail
White on your body and yellow on your chimeneas
For you're tired of the filthy waters of the harbors
You who loved the distant Sporades
You who lifted the tallest flags
You who sail clear through the most dangerous caves
Hail to you who let yourself be charmed by the sirens
Hail to you for never having been afraid of the Symplegades
(Andreas Empeirikos)
What traveler has not been fascinated by the Greek islands, drawn by the Sirens’ song of a traveler’s dreams?
TNH and our video show ‘Mission’ marked the change of the season by transporting viewers into the heart of summer.
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