Albanian lawmakers scuffle, set off flares during parliament session

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Albanian lawmakers scuffled with guards during a parliament session in Tirana on Thursday, shouting, tugging at one another and setting off flares in the rostrum.

The altercation came during a session to vote for Albania’s next ombudsman, the country’s top human rights official. The opposition Democratic Party of Albania accused the governing Socialist Party of election fraud and the erosion of democracy in the country, issues they have been protesting for months.

Opposition lawmakers tugged at microphones and threw bottles at the speaker of the parliament, Niko Peleshi, as he tried to keep the vote going.

Peleshi urged the lawmakers to “respect the institution of the parliament.”

“We cannot destroy the state like this,” he said.

During physical altercations with parliament guards, opposition lawmakers lit flares after they refused to vacate the chairs of the ruling cabinet, which they had occupied before the session began.

The protesting lawmakers held up placards with slogans comparing Prime Minister Edi Rama to Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno, calling him “The Noriega of Europe.”

One of the opposition’s main demands is the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku, who has held her post despite an arrest warrant being issued by the country’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime, known as SPAK.

SPAK has accused Balluku of interfering with the public procurement procedures in several construction projects, and has urged parliament to vote to lift Balluku’s immunity. The issue is to be discussed in an upcoming special session. Balluku has not responded to the accusations against her.

Albania is considered a front-runner in the Western Balkans for joining the European Union, along with northern neighbor Montenegro. However, international watchdogs say the country continues to suffer from widespread corruption and a monopolization of power by the ruling Socialist Party, which have been in government since 2013.