Monika Kryemadhi

The Special Prosecution Against Organised Crime and Corruption said on Tuesday that two investigations of President Ilir Meta have begun after former MP Halit Valteri issued two criminal complaints accusing him of abuses related to lobbying contracts with US firms.

Edi Rama wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that his party has won the parliamentary elections and called on his supporters and "whoever wants to join us celebrate the victory" to attend a celebration in the evening in Tirana's central square despite concerns about the spreading of the coronavirus.

The main opposition Democratic Party, PD, and the smaller left-wing Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, put their ideological divisions aside on Monday to sign a pre-election agreement ahead of a legislative vote on April 25, under the slogan, "Albania, a home that wins".

Albania President Ilir Meta at a press conference in Tirana on Tuesday. Photo: Gent Shkullaku/LSA

The Albanian president accused billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros of being responsible for what he called "a conspiracy aimed at totally capturing the state".

Protesters push against police in Tirana on 21 March 2019. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

Protesters threw a coloured substance against one of MPs as he was entering the parliament in Tirana for the first time.

After the opposition parties summoned their supporters early in the morning, dozens of them threw firecrackers and smoke bombs while police pushed them back.

Albania's two main opposition parties announced on Monday that they intend to bring down Edi Rama's centre-left government through united protests.

Albanian police on Wednesday asked the prosecution to launch criminal proceedings against 10 opposition MPs, including the chair of the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, Monika Kryemadhi.

The fallout from the June 25 election in Albania - which Edi Rama's Socialists won - continues to reverberate, as the head of the third-placed party, the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, Petrit Vasil, resigned on Thursday, proposing Monika Kryemadhi as his successor.

As in many other countries, the "ice bucket challenge" has taken hold among celebrities and politicians in the Balkans.