Follow the law, otherwise you will be held accountable”: Bardhi accuses the majority of blocking the investigative committee on KAYO

The head of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, has reacted to SPAK’s investigation into the state-owned company “KAYO”, following reports of searches at homes and private entities, including the villa of Ron Yeffet.

In a post on social media, Bardhi claims that the majority is obstructing the opposition’s request to establish an investigative committee in Parliament to verify the activities of the company “KAYO”.

According to him, the request was submitted by the opposition more than three weeks ago, but the majority did not agree to establish the committee during the Conference of Chairpersons meeting on 17 September 2026.

Bardhi emphasizes that, under the law, after being reviewed by the Conference of Chairpersons, the matter must be brought before a plenary session within 15 days. He adds that, with the approval of Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi, the request had been scheduled for discussion on 5 October 2026, the final day of the statutory deadline.

However, according to the head of the DP parliamentary group, the majority is attempting to delay consideration of the matter at a time when SPAK has carried out searches as part of its investigation into “KAYO”.

“It has been made public that SPAK has conducted searches at homes and companies as part of criminal investigations related to the company ‘KAYO’ sh.a., and Parliament should avoid this issue this Monday,” Bardhi writes.

He accuses the Parliament Speaker of sidestepping an issue of major public interest and, in his view, failing to fulfill the legal obligations concerning the review of the opposition’s request.

Bardhi also raises questions about the role assigned to the opposition in Parliament and the way democratic institutions are functioning, calling for the constitutional rights of the parliamentary minority to be respected.

In his reaction, the head of the DP parliamentary group calls on Niko Peleshi to follow the law and not act in the political interests of the majority.

He says that the Parliament Speaker must guarantee the institution’s proper functioning rather than implement the political will of the majority. Bardhi accuses Peleshi of following the political orders of Taulant Balla and Edi Rama.

For more than three weeks, the opposition has requested the establishment of an investigative committee to verify the activities of the state-owned company “KAYO”, while the majority did not support the request at the Conference of Chairpersons meeting on 17 September 2026.

The legal rules stipulate that, after being reviewed by the Conference of Chairpersons, the request must be discussed in a plenary session no later than 15 days later. With Niko Peleshi’s approval, the review had been scheduled for 5 October 2026, the date on which the deadline expired.

Bardhi claims that the majority is arbitrarily and unlawfully delaying the discussion after information was made public about SPAK searches at homes and companies as part of the criminal investigation into the company “KAYO” sh.a.

According to him, in such a situation, when the need for parliamentary transparency is particularly great, the Parliament Speaker is choosing not to address an issue of public importance and is avoiding the obligations related to the request to establish the investigative committee.

“When the Parliament Speaker chooses not to fulfill the obligations arising from the law in the face of an issue of major public interest, a fundamental question arises: how is the democratic functioning of institutions guaranteed?” Bardhi says.

He also asks what the opposition’s real role in Parliament is at a time when, according to him, the constitutional rights of the parliamentary minority are being ignored in the Parliament of Albania.

On behalf of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, Bardhi condemns what he describes as a violation of the law by the Parliament Speaker and calls on him to respect the law and guarantee the opposition’s constitutional rights.

“The Parliament Speaker should not be an executor of the majority’s political will, but a guarantor of the proper functioning of the institution he leads. Niko Peleshi should know that personal responsibility can be avoided through respect for the law, not by carrying out the blind orders of Taulant Balla or Edi Rama for day-to-day political calculations,” Bardhi concludes.