Opposition protests in front of parliament
Story Highlights
- Protesters then moved to the boulevard while holding a paper pyramid, at the top of which was Rama’s name, symbolizing the pyramid of crime and corruption which, according to the opposition, is headed by the Socialist government.
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TIRANA, April 4 – Albania’s opposition held on Wednesday its eighth protest, which kicked off in front of the parliament and ended close to the government building.
Meanwhile, inside the parliament, most people were involved in debates with opposition representatives on the electoral reform, following the decision to postpone the Reform Committee for one more month waiting for the Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration to accept the invitation to conclude this process, which is also one of the recommendations of the European Council to open accession talks with Albania.
This time around, the majority of protesters came from DP and SMI youth forums, while there were many who held slogans reading the word “GO,” addressed to Prime Minister Edi Rama. Even among youth, moments of tension were present when a group of protesters tried several times to break the police line at the parliament’s entrance.
Protesters then moved to the boulevard while holding a paper pyramid, at the top of which was Rama’s name, symbolizing the pyramid of crime and corruption which, according to the opposition, is headed by the Socialist government.
Close to the government building, the pyramid was set in flames while the protest concluded with the return of the opposition leaders to the DP headquarters’ yard.
Members of parliament who refused to resign their parliamentary mandates and others who have replaced their opposition MP colleagues ever since they decided to boycott the parliament, debated the majority over the electoral reform.
The debates were prompted by yesterday’s Socialist Democrat Damian Gjiknuri’s proposal to postpone the Reform Commission for a month, in order to allow the opposition parties to join this process.
According to MP Rudina Hajdari, who is one of the few DP MPs who refused to resign their parliamentary mandates, said the majority should establish a dialogue with the opposition MPs now present in the parliamentary hall.
“This commission was established with the previous MPs. We don’t know what you discussed with them, what their proposals were and what they want to achieve with this electoral reform. This is a new parliament and you have to accept this reality. You have to accept new proposals. You have to accept the mandates of that commission expired on February 21, 2019,” Hajdari said, referring to the date the opposition decided to resign its parliamentary mandates and continue protesting to demand Rama’s resignation and the establishment of a caretaker government that can bring about early elections.
Rama, on his part, explained the majority’s proposal to postpone the reform commission is merely a sign of a good will to conclude the only process which remains open with the opposition, pointing out however they will not wait indefinitely, while reminding it was the DP that insisted to Include the Electoral Reform on the European Council’s recommendations for opening accession talks with Albania in June.
“We will wait as long as it is permissible. If, on the part of the European Union and the European Commission it is made known the electoral law can stop here, before a decision to open the negotiations is reached, because it is written in the text, we will stop here and refer only to OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, excluding other elements,” Rama said in parliament.
One day ago, on Tuesday, Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn speaking in the European Parliament, said that “we will make a recommendation for North Macedonia, as well as Albania, that these countries should start the preparatory phase for opening accession negotiations and this will be done officially.”
Despite the recommendation from the EP, the decision on whether aspirant countries will open accession negotiations remains to the member states.
In this context, Albania’s political situation does not help the country receive a positive decision, while the results of the European elections will also be decisive in the position that the member states will take.
