</s>Albania's parliament elected its leader as the country's new president Friday, abandoning efforts to build consensus with boycotting opposition lawmakers after two weeks of delays.

Speaker Ilir Meta was chosen after lawmakers in the 140-seat body who were present for the closed-door election voted 87-2 in favor of him. Meta's nomination was formally supported by the main left-wing governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Eighty-nine lawmakers were present for the vote, and Meta needed at least 71 votes to be elected. A handover ceremony from President Bujar Nishani is expected on July 24.

Meta is leader of the junior governing party, the Socialist Movement for Integration, or LSI, a post which he now must relinquish. He was the only candidate proposed by 23 lawmakers. Candidates must be nominated by at least 20 legislators.

Albania's president occupies a largely ceremonial role and is limited to two five-year terms.

"I will do my utmost, with all of my capacities, to justify the trust you gave ... to (serve) all the Albanian citizens, the constitution of the Republic of Albania, the most important interest linked to the national stability, security and our country's European future," he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana was the first to congratulate Meta, saying Washington was looking "forward to working with Albania's leaders to address the country's challenges and create opportunities for the Albanian people."

Following a request from the parliament administration, vetting authorities declared Meta "clean," meaning he has neither a criminal record nor any links to former communist regime institutions. He's been the parliamentary speaker since 2013 and previously served as prime minister.

Meta acknowledged becoming president had been "unimaginable." As a student in the late 1980s, he only dreamed of becoming a faculty professor, nothing more.

Meta, an economist, started his political life in 1990 as part of a student protest that toppled the country's communist regime. At age 48, he is among the longest-serving politicians in post-communist Albania.

He became the country's youngest-ever prime minister at 30 and also has served as foreign, integration and economy, trade and energy minister.

Meta founded the LSI party in 2004. In a few years, he turned it into a kingmaker in the volatile country's politics.

Though a left-wing grouping, the LSI joined the center-right coalition that ruled Albania in 2009-2013. It has been in a governing alliance with the Socialists since 2013.

Friday's vote followed three failed rounds in which the governing coalition didn't put up a candidate, saying it wanted to include the center-right opposition in reaching a broader consensus.

The opposition has boycotted parliament since February, demanding Rama's resignation before a June 18 parliamentary election and claiming that the sitting Cabinet will manipulate the vote.

European parliamentarians also failed to convince the opposition to change its stance.

Meta appealed to all political parties to do "their utmost for the country's stability (and) legitimacy of the institutions."

Meta is married to Monika Kryemadhi, also a LSI lawmaker, and has two daughters and a son.</s>The Albanian parliament on Friday, elected Ilir Meta as the country’s new President with 87 votes in favour and two against.

Meta was parliament speaker and head of Socialist Movement for Integration. His term of presidency will last till 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was the fourth round of voting for a new President. The first three rounds failed as no candidate was presented by the ruling majority.

The majority representatives said in first three sessions that they were waiting for the opposition to join the process.

Albania’s new President was proposed by the Socialist Movement for Integration and was unanimously supported by ruling Socialist Party.

His candidacy was made public on Thursday evening by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama who described Meta as the ideal President for Albania at this moment.

On the other hand, the opposition continued its boycott, thus refusing to be involved into the President election process.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Albanian parliament elected its current speaker Ilir Meta of the Socialist Movement for Intergration (LSI) was elected the new President of Albania in the fourth round of elections.

Meta, who was nominated as a candidate in the third round, was elected by 87 votes in favor and two against in the 140-seat parliament, according to the Balkan Insight website.

According to other local media, Meta called on all parties to show more responsibility amid the political crisis in the country, urging them to do everything possible for all political parties to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 18.

The opposition refused to take part in the presidential election, as it has been boycotting all parliamentary proceeding since February, claiming that the upcoming parliamentary election will be rigged and refusing to register for it. Instead it demands that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama steps down and allows creation of a caretaker government to ensure free and fair parliamentary election.</s>Assembly Members of the Asokore Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region, have rejected President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s District Chief Executive nominee for the municipality.

The Municipal Chief Executive nominee, Alhaji Alidu Seidu, failed to get two thirds of the votes of the Assembly members during his confirmation on Friday.

Eight of the 15 Assembly members voted ‘No’ while seven noted ‘Yes.’

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who was at the assembly prior to the election, called on the Assembly members to give the MCE nominee 100% votes, but this apparently fell on deaf ears.

The meeting was subsequently adjourned indefinitely following a commotion after the declaration of the result.

Meanwhile, the Regional Minister is currently in a meeting with all the Assembly Members.

Alhaji Seidu was among 212 persons named by the President to fill the vacant positions of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives in the various assemblies nationwide.
Ilir Meta is elected the new President of Albania, winning 87 votes out of 140 members of the Assembly.