Lulzim Basha

Tensions rose in the run-up to the weekend's polls in Albania when a young man was shot in his knee inside the electoral office of the opposition Democratic Party in the central Albania town of Kavaja late on Monday.

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".

The Albanian government under Prime Minister Edi Rama has secretly proposed to extend the contract for the private management of Tirana International Airport from 22 to 35 years, parliamentary submissions show.

Albania protester threw a stone against police in this photo of 10 December 2020 in Tirana. Photo: LSA

Prime Minister Edi Rama dismissed suggestions that the fatal shooting of the unarmed citizen was a result of a police culture of violence and called the event "an isolated one" - while announcing that Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj had offered his resignation.

After a short visit to serious crime prosecutors, Rizzatto left Albania the same day, mission accomplished:

Within the year, money-laundering charges against Vladi and four others had been dropped, as one of Albania's most sensational criminal cases of recent years unraveled.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha speaking to journalists at the National Theatre on May 14, 2020. Photo: LSA

The municipal council adopted the decision to go ahead with demolition in an online meeting on Thursday, a councillor for the ruling Socialist Party told BIRN on condition of anonymity. A municipal spokesperson did not answer BIRN's request for clarification.

Prime Minister Edi Rama's spokesperson Endri Fuga told BIRN on Tuesday that he did not think it was necessary to comment on the allegation that the Albanian premier was behind an illegal foreign donation of $80,000 to President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

The main opposition party in Albania reacted with outrage after the First Instance Court of Serious Crimes in Tirana on Thursday found former interior minister Saimir Tahiri not guilty of charges of international drug trafficking and association with a criminal organization.

The elections were held in the tense atmosphere due to the fear of potential incidents, that were avoided.
Apart from the low turnout, those elections will be remembered by the boycott of the opposition that happened for the first time after the fall of the Communist regime in the country back in 1990, Macedonian web portal a1on reports.

Seven international rights organisations have urged politicians of all sides in polarised Albania to stop their smear campaigns against journalists, and have urged the authorities to fully investigate recent unresolved attacks on reporters. They also urged the media community to show solidarity and report cases of threats and intimidation.