Opposition unhappy with parliament’s management

TIRANA, Dec. 13 – The opposition Socialist Party complained Monday the parliament dominated by the governing Democratic Party turned down its request to redraft the budget. It also expressed concern about the management of the parliament itself by Speaker Jozefina Topalli.
The heads of the parliamentary groupings convened Monday to get involved in a harsh debate on the agenda of the parliament for the year end
The opposition also wants to immediately include the creation of the parliamentary investigative commission on last year’s polls immediately, a request that was also postponed.
Opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama strongly denounced such decisions saying that it left no option to the opposition than resuming its street protests.
The Socialists complain of vote count manipulation in some ballot boxes in last year’s parliamentary elections. They first asked for a partial recount, a move which they abandoned last month only asking for the investigation of the electoral documentation instead.
Despite international mediation, especially from the European Parliament, Albania’s two main political groupings have failed to reach any compromise on the issue, which is hampering the country’s progress in EU integration.