TIRANA, May 30 – The opposition Democratic Party has decided to boycott parliament for ten days in retaliation for having its former leader Sali Berisha suspended from attending parliament for the same period of time.
The parliament office decided to expel the former DP chairman and ex-Prime Minister upon the request of the ruling Socialist Party after his remarks in Thursday’s plenary session, in which he accused current Prime Minister Edi Rama of direct ties with criminals.
The decision to boycott parliament was announced by the head of the Democratic Party parliamentary group Edi Paloka following an extraordinary meeting on Saturday.
“In a parliament where criminals are honored and those exposing them are punished, this was the easiest course of action to adopt,” said Paloka.
The Democrat’s decision is believed responsible for the delay of an anticipated meeting between opposition leader Lulzim Basha and Prime Minister Edi Rama intended to unlock stalled justice reform talks.
The two leaders have agreed to meet June 6, according to media reports.
In a statement, Basha considered Berisha’s suspension from parliament as “a sign of crisis which closes the cooperation door to the opposition”.
The Democrat leader’s remarks implied that a meeting with PM Rama was unlikely to happen during the 10-day period at least.
This is the second time within a short timeframe that former Prime Minister Sali Berisha is suspended for his remarks in parliament. About a month ago, Berisha was expelled for calling on citizens to get armed to protect themselves against what he called “gangs linked to the government”. The opposition Democratic Party decided to boycott parliament for ten days thereafter.
The opposition’s latest boycott threatens to delay one of the most important reforms in the country, namely the justice reform, which is a key requirement to open accession negotiations with the 28-nation bloc.
