- Albanian lawmakers engaged in violent clashes within parliament on Thursday, hurling objects and ripping microphones from desks as the session descended into chaos.
- This parliamentary disruption occurred on the tenth consecutive day of widespread street protests that have roiled the country during intense political instability.
- High school and university students have joined the anti-government demonstrations, demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama while calling for education reform.
- Months of prior demonstrations were led by the Flamingo Movement, which opposes a luxury development project linked to Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
- The escalation from street protests to legislative violence represents a volatile shift in the country’s ongoing political standoff, threatening administrative stability
A physical clash between deputies interrupted a tense session of the Albanian parliament in Tirana. The secretary of the Democratic Party, Flamur Noka, and the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party, Taulant Bala, confronted each other, after which other deputies intervened in the hall.
According to CNA, the meeting began under tension and quickly descended into chaos. The media outlet reports that the deputies tried to prevent a new escalation between Noka and Bala.
The scene took place amid ongoing anti-government protests in Tirana. According to Cadena SER, an opposition MP called for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, the dissolution of parliament and the formation of a caretaker government. Bala then defended the police’s actions against the protesters, while another opposition representative took his microphone away. According to the Spanish media, chairs were also thrown in the ensuing scuffle.
The parliamentary session resumed after being interrupted the previous week by protests. Demonstrators surrounded the parliament building while lawmakers were in session, and the protests then spread to other locations in the capital.
The protests continue
The protest movement is demanding the resignation of the prime minister, more accessible education, better public services and action against corruption. Schoolchildren and university students have joined broader anti-government demonstrations that have been going on for months.
The Associated Press reported that police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in Tirana on October 20. According to the agency, demonstrators threw rocks, flares, Molotov cocktails and fireworks, and law enforcement responded with water cannons, batons and tear gas.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has rejected calls for his resignation. “I will not allow anyone to endanger the future of this country through political gain and the imposition of disorder and destruction,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
