Overview

• Albanian opposition lawmakers, notably from the Democratic Party, disrupted a Parliament session, stacking chairs and throwing smoke firecrackers as part of their protest against the alleged authoritarian rule of the governing Socialist Party.
• Despite the disruption, the session proceeded in the 140-member chamber with 73 Socialist lawmakers voting in favor of 21 draft laws.
• The protests in Parliament began shortly before prosecutors accused Sali Berisha, a leader within the Democratic Party, of corruption related to a land-buying scheme currently under legal investigation.
• Prosecutors allege that Berisha granted financial favors to his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, who has been arrested on corruption and money laundering charges. Berisha insists both he and Malltezi are innocent, suggesting the accusations are politically motivated.
• Berisha, who previously served as Albania's Prime Minister (2005-2013) and President (1992-1997), and his family have been barred from entering the United States and the United Kingdom due to allegations of involvement in corruption. Despite this, Berisha was reelected as a lawmaker in the April 2021 parliamentary election.