Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 20, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 3, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePolice clashed with opposition protesters in Tirana as a graft probe into Deputy PM Belinda Balluku intensified. Demonstrators demand Prime Minister Edi Rama resign. (aljazeera.com)
TIRANA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Police in Tirana fired tear gas and used water cannon in clashes on Friday with opposition protesters demanding the resignation of the Albanian government following corruption allegations against the deputy prime minister.
Demonstrators hurled petrol bombs and fireworks at the Prime Minister Edi Rama's office and police responded with tear gas and water cannon.
Political tensions have escalated since December after a special prosecution unit indicted Rama's deputy, Belinda Balluku, for allegedly interfering in public tenders for major infrastructure projects and favouring certain companies, charges Balluku denies.
Thousands of opposition Democratic Party supporters chanted "Rama, go away" and "Rama in jail" carrying Albanian and party flags.
"Edi Rama's days are numbered," said Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha. "Let them know that even if they go behind the sun, we will find them and punish them with the full force of the law.”
An anti-corruption court has suspended Balluku from office but the Special Prosecution Office, tasked with fighting corruption, has demanded parliament lift her immunity to enable her arrest.
Rama's Socialist Party, which last year secured a fourth consecutive term, has a comfortable parliamentary majority and it is unclear if and when the assembly will lift the immunity of Balluku, who also served as an infrastructure minister and is a close ally of the prime minister.
Rama has complained about judicial overreach, especially with pre-trial detentions.
Albania aims to join the European Union by 2030 but the bloc says the country must do more to fight crime and corruption.
(Reporting by Florion Goga, writing by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Alex Richardson)
Clashes in Tirana between police and opposition protesters over corruption allegations tied to Deputy PM Belinda Balluku, sparking calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
She is Albania’s deputy prime minister and a former infrastructure minister. SPAK alleges she interfered in public tenders; a special court suspended her from office pending proceedings.
Prosecutors have requested that lawmakers lift Balluku’s immunity to enable arrest. A parliamentary decision will shape the pace of the investigation and the political fallout.
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