Opposition says it will block parliament sessions

TIRANA, Nov. 1 – The Secretary General of the opposition Socialist party Pandeli Majko said that parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli is in continuous violation of the rules of the hall by not letting them have a free voice. He mentioned the denial of many reports, actions and also the latest decision to create a parliamentary police which, he said, all run counter to normal democratic procedures.The Social Democratic leader Skender Gjinushi, who had a physical run-in with a parliament’s bodyguard, said that the opposition could not accept the session as it stood.
On the other side, the term of the parliamentary commission on electoral reform expired on Oct. 31 with no results at all. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has sent some suggestions to the parliament on the reform but it seems that the opposition has not accepted them. The commission meanwhile is trying to prepare a package, that will likely be passed this month, but the opposition insists on pursuing the case of the fraudulent birth certificates, more than one million, distributed earlier this summer and which, it says, will be exploited by the majority to manipulate results.