Bardhi on Balluku: Absence from Parliament shows tensions with Rama, SPAK must not follow political calculations

Gazment Bardhi, head of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, has again responded to the case involving Belinda Balluku and the position taken by the Special Prosecution Office.

In a statement titled “Day 8,” he said that another week had ended without a request from SPAK to lift Balluku’s immunity, a step that, according to him, would allow proceedings for her arrest to move forward.

Bardhi interpreted Balluku’s absence from Parliament, during a session in which the Socialist Party needed 84 votes, as a clear indication of tensions between her and Prime Minister Edi Rama.

According to the Democratic MP, Rama had listed three reasons for Balluku’s arrest in March, while in September SPAK had addressed all three: corruption, money laundering and concealment of assets. These remain Bardhi’s allegations and are not independently confirmed findings.

The head of the Democratic parliamentary group said SPAK’s work should not be dictated by the pace of the prime minister’s political calculations. According to him, the Special Prosecution Office has no mandate to wait until Edi Rama convinces Belinda Balluku to relinquish her mandate.

He stressed that SPAK’s duty is to combat corruption and organized crime at the highest levels, acting independently of the government and its political interests.

Finally, Bardhi also referred to securing the 84th vote at 2 a.m. He claimed that, in order to secure that vote, Edi Rama crossed a human boundary that is difficult to imagine, but clarified that this is a separate matter unrelated to Balluku.