Clash in Parliament Over Representation Law, Dauti and Sela Occupy the Rostrum

The parliamentary rostrum was blocked by Alliance for Albanians MP Ilire Dauti, who was later joined by party leader Ziadin Sela. Dauti had earlier called for the parliamentary questions session to be suspended because, according to her, the Government had not sent her a written response regarding the Law on Fair and Adequate Representation.

“On behalf of all MPs, I call for this session to be suspended because there is no point in continuing with the other questions. I will not leave this rostrum today until I receive an answer to the question I submitted last time, which the prime minister was supposed to answer. Either come here and provide an answer, or this session will not continue,” Ilire Dauti said.

To calm the situation, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi initially called a half-hour recess. As tensions did not ease, he later announced another one-hour break.

At today’s meeting with journalists, before the developments in the session, Gashi had spoken about the Law on Fair Representation. He acknowledged that the legal text may have shortcomings but stressed that it is better to have a law than none at all. The Parliament Speaker said he would move the law forward when he deemed the time was right.

“I will exercise my right to assess and decide when the most appropriate time is for this law to be put to a vote. I want citizens and the opposition to know that we do not plan to adopt it in secret. The session will be convened, all MPs will be invited, and the plenary session will make the decision. My duty is to decide when the best time is for a decision to be made, after which we will all respect Parliament’s decision,” Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi said.

The Albanian opposition had earlier accused Gashi of holding the Law on Fair and Adequate Representation hostage, with the aim of putting it to a vote at a time when opposition MPs were not present in the session. The opposition has objections to the law and opposes it.