After the Ombudsman, the election of the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination also ends up in the Constitutional Court. Former candidate Rozeta Ivanova has opposed the election of Genta Bungo with only the votes of the socialists, claiming violations during the parliamentary procedure. On May 7 of this year, Genta Bungo received 83 votes as the new Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination. Bungo was elected with only the votes of the socialists and with the opposition of the democrats!
But 3 months later, her election was appealed to the Constitutional Court by another candidate seeking the post. Genta Bungo's former colleague on the vetting commission, Rozeta Ivanova, claims irregularities during the procedure for electing the Commissioner and requests the annulment of the decision dated May 7, 2026.
In fact, according to Ivanova, it was the Commission for Human Rights and Public Media that committed a constitutional violation when it did not hear her in an open session. But referring to the session of April 8, 2026, the Commission had invited Rozeta Ivanova to be heard, but she did not participate in the session!
Sources close to the Assembly said that Ivanova had notified the Assembly of her absence and had requested another hour or day to be heard, which did not happen, so she is requesting the Constitutional Court to annul the Assembly's decision to elect the Commissioner. The lawsuit was filed on the last day of July, while constitutional judge Marjana Semini has been appointed as rapporteur. Initially, it will be up to the Court's Panel of 3 members to decide whether Ivanova's lawsuit will be accepted for review on the merits, and then the 8 members will decide on the merits of the case if it passes the first filter. Bungo, who previously served as a Commissioner in the Independent Qualification Commission, ran and took the place of only Robert Gajda, whose mandate as head of the CPD had ended 2 years ago.
Bungo's appointment marks the second case of opposition in the Constitutional Court of an appointment by parliament to independent institutions. A few weeks earlier, the Assembly's decision to elect Endri Shabani as the head of the People's Advocate had been individually opposed by Adriana Kalaja, who was part of the Competition, but the Constitutional Court had not accepted the individual complaint, while currently, Shabani's election is being reviewed in the constitutional court following a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party parliamentary group.
