Ilir Meta

Albania opposition supporters protesting against Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana on June 21 2019. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

The attack occurred on Thursday evening when about 200 people assembled at the election centre of the Municipality of Vau i Dejws, an opposition Democratic Party stronghold.

President Ilir Meta (left) and Prime Minister Edi Rama during a ceremony of remembrance for WWII heroes on May 5 2019. Photo: LSA

After the failure of the meeting requested by the President, Meta said he was setting a new date for the local elections, due on June 30.

Protesters faced off police in a dozen towns across Albania on Wednesday, as opposition-run municipalities demanded that the Central Election Commission, CEC, vacate municipal properties planned for use as polling stations in hotly disputed local elections, which the opposition is boycotting.

Bajram Curri. Photo: Wikimedia/Albinfo

Opposition supporters attacked and destroyed election material in the town of Bajram Curri, in north Albania on Tuesday, ahead of a hotly disputed local election due on June 30, which the opposition is boycotting and the President has tried to call off.

"The move by the Dutch parliament is unprecedented, because as far as I know, previously has not been such a demand for the Western Balkans and our countries," he said.

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.

Thousands of Albanians went to the streets on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Demonstrators clashed with the police as they tried to enter the prime minister's office in the capital Tirana.

Four demonstrators and two police officers were injured during the clash, according to the Albanian Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

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 Prime Minister Edi Rama on Monday said he would take over the position of Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, following a row with President Ilir Meta on the nomination of Gent Cakaj as the new minister.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Twitter on Thursday condemned President Ilir Meta's refusal to endorse his nominee Gent Cakaj as new foreign minister, calling it "not just unconstitutional but also shameful".

He also issued an apology to Kosovo "about this shame", as Cakaj has citizenship of both Kosovo and Albania.