Opposition wants parliament speaker out

TIRANA, July 28 – The opposition Socialist Movement for Integration urged the main coalition partner, the Socialist Party, to resume the process of asking for a vote of confidence on parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli of the governing Democratic party.
The SMI said that Topalli had created a very grave situation in the working of the parliament and has also tried to close the transparency of its sessions by evicting the diplomatic representatives of the United States and of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Washington and OSCE ambassadors sent letters of complaint to Topalli when their representatives were removed from parliament earlier this month.
Topalli said that was a misunderstanding which would never happen again.
Pellumb Xhufi of the SMI called on the Socialist lawmakers to resume the procedure to seek a vote of confidence against Topalli who, he said, had turned the parliament into an instrument of the battle against institutions.(Tirana Times Staff)