Erion Veliaj

The Socialist Party led by Prime Minister Edi Rama is ahead in most municipalities in the country after Sunday's local elections and has already won three, Kamza, Vora and Elbasan, where the voting took place electronically and the Central Election Commission was able to declare the results a few hours after polls closed.

The home of the head of Albanian football's governing body, Armando Duka, in the coastal town of Durres was targeted with explosives on Monday evening, causing damage but no casualties.

Police said on Monday night that the explosive device was placed at the gate of his apartment and that "an investigative unit is working to clarify the circumstances of the event".

The Albanian Football Federation, FSHF, the country's football governing body, has accused Erion Veliaj, Socialist Party Mayor of Tirana, of using threats against board members ahead of a vote for the head of the Federation.

Albania is reported to be about to give refuge to some 250 Afghan civilians over the course of the next few days, North Macedonia is expecting to take in around 390 and Kosovo is also preparing to receive an unnamed number of people fleeing Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban at the weekend.

After three sessions, the Constitutional Court in Tirana has suspended the legal initiatives that paved the way for construction of a new National Theatre undertaken by the government and the Municipality of Tirana until the court issues a final decision on the issue.

The old National Theatre was demolished in May 2020, after three years of protests by activists.

The head of the Albanian Media Council has criticised the behaviour of the Mayor of Tirana's security detail after a video published by Ora News media outlet showed a journalist being physically stopped from putting questions to Mayor Erion Veliaj.

Critics say the demolition of the National Theatre is an old project of Prime Minister Edi Rama, since the time when he was Culture Minister in 1998 and proposed to build a tower in its place and incorporate the theatre inside.

The renewed bid to demolish the theatre divided artists and activists, and raised concerns among anti-corruption and heritage watchdogs.

The ruins of the National Theatre of Albania on May 18 2020. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

An excavator removed rubble from the site on Monday morning, forming a contrasting image to billboards still inviting theatre-goers to come and see stage plays.

The rift between Albania's ruling Socialist Party and President Ilir Meta widened on Sunday after Prime Minister Edi Rama accused Meta of acting as the head of the opposition - after he urged the government to cancel a project to demolish homes to make way for a new stretch of road in the capital. 

Albanian police said 12 police officers and three protesters were injured after protesters threw fireworks while protesting near parliament against the demolition without compensation of several dozen homes and businesses on the edge of Tirana.