Albania Opposition Urges Protesters to Topple ‘Illegitimate’ PM

Albanian opposition parties urged supporters to come to Tirana on Saturday, rally near the main boulevard, where Prime Minister Edi Rama's office is located, and terminate the "illegitimate" rule of his Socialist Party.

The centre-right Democratic Party leader issued its last call for the protest on Thursday during a meeting in Vlora, a Socialist Party stronghold.

"On 13 April, we will see the biggest protest ever to bring an end to the illegitimate Prime Minister," Basha said.

"They have created two Albanias, one for the majority, deprived of the opportunities for a better life, where parents are thrown in jail for being unable to pay for electricity, and another … for those above the law," he added.

Albania is heading toward local elections due on June 30.

However, the two main opposition parties, the Demcrats and the Socialist Movement for Integration, SMI, have refused to enlist in the elections, signalling a boycott, the country first since the advent of multiparty elections almost three decades ago.

The possible election boycott will follow the opposition's withdrawal from parliament last February and threats to withdraw also from local councils.

The parliamentary boycott has been partly undermined by the country's system of closed party lists, however.

Under this, vacant seats in parliament are automatically offered to the election candidates next in line in their respective parties.

As of Friday, eight of the 41 Democratic Party MPs had been substituted and 10 of 17 MPs from the SMI. The government claims the parliament is fully functional again.

Furthermore, a boycott of the local elections risks leaving the Socialist Party as sole rulers of both central and local government.

The opposition...