Reported by:
Cherry Meigh Timbol
News Content Editor
Published November 1, 2026
TIRANA, Albania – Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliament session on Thursday by letting off flares, following weeks of violent anti-government protests led by students who are demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
Members of the opposition Democratic Party also blocked access to the podium while a Central Bank law was being voted on. The flares filled the chamber with colored smoke. Governing Socialist Party lawmakers continued the vote despite the protest, and four opposition MPs were expelled from the chamber.
Other opposition members surrounded party leader Sali Berisha as he spoke, holding photos of protesters injured by rubber bullets. Some carried blue flares, the party’s color. Berisha’s microphone was cut off after he made harsh remarks about the ruling lawmakers. The opposition accuses police of excessive force, though the images shown in parliament do not independently establish those allegations.
Similar scenes occurred on Oct. 22, when opposition MPs surrounded the speaker’s podium and threw objects, and guards had to intervene. Opposition lawmakers also set off flares in parliament on Dec. 18, 2025.
The student-led demonstrations, fueled by perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have gripped central Tirana since mid-October and spread to other cities. Some protesters have set fire to government buildings and banks and thrown paving stones at police. Rama has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term last year.
On Sunday, Rama announced new measures to curb violence, including fines of 500,000 lek for anyone who takes part in a protest that turns violent, even without committing violence personally.
He has blamed foreign interference by parties he says do not want Albania in the European Union. This week’s protests were mainly peaceful, and another was planned for Saturday.
