Erion Braçe

Erion Braçe (born 2 April 1972) is an Albanian politician, former journalist and senior member of the Socialist Party of Albania. He has served as a member of the Parliament of Albania since 1996 and was Deputy Prime Minister of Albania in the Rama II Government from January 2019 to September 2021.

Braçe is one of the longest-serving Socialist MPs in post-communist Albania. He has been a member of the Socialist Party's General Steering Committee since 1994, served as deputy chair of FRESSH, and has held senior parliamentary roles, including chair of the Committee on Economy and Finance.

His career has also been marked by controversy. Critics have linked him politically to the wider Rama-era system of concentrated power, clientelist party politics and corruption scandals, especially because of his role as a senior Socialist legislator and former deputy prime minister. He has not been publicly convicted of corruption or organised-crime offences. Controversies involving him have mainly concerned his political defence of the Fier incinerator, his comments on SPAK's incinerator investigations, the 2025 patronageist/electoral-office incident in Tirana, and his response to anti-government protests during the 2026 Flamingo Revolution.

Early life and journalism Braçe was born in Tirana on 2 April 1972. He studied at the Faculty of Economy of the University of Tirana, specialising in economics and finance, between 1990 and 1994. He took office in January 2019 after a presidential decree. He was also visible during the response to the 2019 Albania earthquake of 26 November 2019, one of the most serious natural disasters in post-communist Albania.

Later parliamentary activity After leaving the deputy premiership, Braçe remained a Socialist MP and became increasingly known for public criticism of economic abuses, agricultural policy, construction in Tirana and local-governance problems. In 2023, he publicly criticised high prices and called for price reductions, arguing that markets had stabilised after earlier price increases related to war and supply shocks.

In 2026, Braçe publicly expressed interest in running for mayor of Tirana, challenging the Socialist Party leadership's preference for another candidate. Albanian Daily News reported that he signalled a bid for the capital's leadership and called for support from Socialist Party members in Tirana. Vox News reported that Braçe said he did not want to become mayor "to sit like a puppet" and criticised the lack of civic standards in Tirana's construction industry.

Political positions and public profile Braçe is considered one of the Socialist Party's most recognisable and long-serving parliamentary figures. He is known for a confrontational speaking style, frequent public interventions on social media and a focus on economic, agricultural and local-governance issues.

Although he has remained part of the Socialist Party and has served in Rama's government, Braçe has also publicly criticised aspects of Socialist governance. BalkanWeb described him in 2025 as one of the few "free voices" inside the party, arguing that he continued to speak critically in an environment where internal debate had weakened. In 2026, VNA reported that Braçe criticised both the governance of Tirana and the lack of democracy inside the Socialist Party, saying the party had become like "a wall where announcements are posted" rather than a structure with competition and democratic processes.

Role in the Rama era Braçe's career has been closely tied to the long period of Socialist Party rule under Edi Rama. He served as a senior MP throughout Rama's premiership and as deputy prime minister from 2019 to 2021. His role has therefore placed him inside the governing majority during a period when Albania has been criticised by international observers for clientelist politics, weak checks and balances, corruption and concerns over electoral integrity.

Freedom House has described Albania's national governance as democratic but dominated by clientelist party politics and individual personalities, and has stated that elections are competitive but frequently marred by vote-buying, manipulation, fraud and gerrymandering. Freedom House's Freedom in the World reports have also described Albania as "Partly Free", while noting that corruption and bribery remain major problems.

Opposition figures have often described Rama's rule as increasingly authoritarian and corrupt, while Socialist figures, including Braçe, have pointed to economic growth, EU accession progress, justice reform and anti-corruption institutions as evidence of reform. Braçe's own position has been ambivalent: he has defended major Socialist policies and government projects, while also criticising corruption, local-government failures and construction interests from within the ruling party.

Controversies

Fier incinerator and waste-management controversy Braçe has been a prominent defender of the Fier waste-treatment plant and incinerator project, one of the projects connected to Albania's wider incinerator controversy. In August 2021, while serving as deputy prime minister, he apologised to residents of Fier after a fire at the city's old waste site and said that a new page should open for waste treatment in the region through the landfill and incinerator, which he said were ready to begin operation.

In February 2023, after the incinerator scandal had become one of Albania's central corruption controversies, Braçe said that the Fier and Elbasan incinerators were being kept closed because of political pressure and accusations. He said that incineration had been the right solution for waste in several Albanian cities and that the Fier incinerator was a major investment that should not be blocked.

Supporters regard his style as direct and independent, while critics describe it as aggressive and polarising.

Public statements on corruption and justice Braçe has often spoken publicly about corruption and justice issues. In July 2024, he called the 21 January 2011 killings a state-organised crime and urged SPAK to call witnesses to cooperate in the investigation.

He has also criticised price abuse and market manipulation, especially in food and agriculture. These interventions have contributed to his image as one of the more socially outspoken figures inside the Socialist Party, even while remaining a long-serving member of the governing majority.

Personal life Braçe is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.