TIRANA, Dec. 21 – The Democratic Party’s youth wing held another protest rally in front of parliament this week, with several hundred young opposition supporters gathering while lawmakers were holding their last annual session.
Unlike a previous opposition protest, there was no violence at the rally. The previous week, Thursday last week anti-government protesters threw tomatoes, eggs, and smoke flares.
The opposition challenged a police cordon, while lawmakers from the center-right Democratic Party were debating with their opposing governing counterparts inside the building.
The opposition has launched a protest campaign against Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government, accusing it of corruption and ineffective leadership.
Protests are being organized amid an unpopular government crackdown on nonpayment of household electricity bills, as well as recent hikes and stronger enforcement on taxes.
Opposition leader Lulzim Basha, who is not a lawmaker himself, said that next year the opposition would “stop government corruption,” urging more protests.
