Albanians are protesting in front of the parliament building where a weekly session is taking place. This is the eight protest since the opposition MPs vacated their seats is late February.
Protesters called for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, chanting “Rama, go!” and calling him “the Maduro of the Balkans”.
Head of the Central Election Commission (KQZ) Klement Zguri held a speech in parliament where he presented. Zguri said that preparations for the June local elections were ongoing, and that the KQZ had done its duty with regards to decriminalizing the parliament, and analyzing party finances. He said that irregularities were found in parties’ lobbying activities.
In today’s session Amra Borova of opposition’s LSI party is expected to take up het MP mandate.
In June, Albania is set to hold local elections. The opposition has indicated it won’t participate in any elections unless Rama resigns and a transitional government is installed, which will enable free and fair elections in the country.
The ruling Socialist Party has meanwhile started preparations for the June elections. Prime Minister Rama has repeatedly declared that he does not intend to resign, and that his party will lead all Albania’s municipalities after the local elections.
The opposition has announced a third major protest on April 13th– the ninth protest in a row. Its MPs left the parliament one month ago, and opposition supporters have been protesting in tens of thousands since then, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, whom they accuse of corruption, vote buying and ties to criminal groups.
