Socialist MP for Shkodër, Marjana Koçeku, issued a strong statement on Tuesday afternoon directed at Socialist Party members who have called on her to give up her parliamentary mandate after she announced that she would continue her political career as an independent lawmaker.
She stated that she has not taken anyone’s parliamentary mandate; on the contrary, she claims that the Socialists took it away from her for ten consecutive months, and that now the mandate has returned to its rightful place—representing the citizens.
“I have not taken anyone’s parliamentary mandate. You took it away from me for ten months in a row. Now the mandate has returned to where it belongs. If you are so certain that I cannot win without you, and if you truly have all 83 seats, then dissolve Parliament, let’s go to early elections, and measure our strength to see who wins what. This time, I will bring along my beloved goat and my sharp hoe, and I will come down to run in Tirana. Before I arrive, perhaps I should ask my fellow highlanders for permission to speak the standard language,” wrote MP Marjana Koçeku.
Her strong reaction comes after criticism from Socialist Party representatives, including senior officials of the party, who have publicly stated that Marjana Koçeku should not only leave the Socialist Party but also relinquish her parliamentary seat.
