Huge crowds rallied on Friday in front of Albanian government buildings in Tirana, backing calls by the opposition Socialists for a recount of ballots from last year’s elections.
The protest was the latest development in a political crisis that has shaken the former communist nation and brought the workings of government to a virtual standstill since the polls in June last year.
“The time of the resistance has come. This is a great battle and we are determined to pursue whatever sacrifices are demanded from us,” said Socialist leader Edi Rama.
He called on supporters to keep up the protests until the polls results are clarified.
The Socialists also accused the government of plunging the country into an economic crisis.
“This is the final moment,” said Gramoc Ruci, a Socialist deputy speaking to the crowd, which he said numbered up to 100,000 people.
There was no official or independent figure.
The Socialists accuse Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s ruling coalition of manipulating the results of the elections and have boycotted parliament to demand a recount, which the government has refused.
Fatmir Xhasa, a Socialist deputy, told the protestors that 22 lawmakers would launch a hunger strike in front of the seat of government to demand election transparency.
About a dozen tents were set up to accommodate the strikers.
Protesters held placards calling on Berisha to allow a recount. “Berisha, either open the ballot boxes, or leave,” said one such message.
The government, led by Berisha’s Democrats, has dismissed calls for a recount, claiming that such a demand has already been rejected by the justice system.
The Socialists returned to parliament in February after a boycott of several months but still refused to take part in any vote, holding up the workings of government.
“This protest will last for an unlimited period of time,” Rama, who is also the mayor of Tirana, said to reporters before the start of the demonstration.
“We are determined to continue the protests and civil disobedience, to oblige the government either to be transparent in regard to the fraud-marked elections or to leave,” he said.
The protests have angered the government, especially as the rallies came shortly before a special concert organized by the authorities on Labour Day, for “Albanians who have all reasons to celebrate.”
“The country is changing and it goes towards its European dream,” said Integration Minister Majlinda Bregu.
The nearly year-long political deadlock has also undermined the country’s EU ambitions.
Albania submitted its candidacy for EU membership in April last year and had been hoping to obtain the lifting of visa requirements, enabling its citizens to travel throughout the Schengen zone, which covers most EU countries.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
RSS