Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliament session by letting off flares on Thursday (October 29, 2026) following weeks of violent anti-government protests called by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Prime Minister Rama has again called on students for dialogue and introduced new economic measures such as cheaper fuel and more money for poor families in an attempt to stop the violence in the streets. Student-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have engulfed central Tirana since mid-October and spread to other cities. Demonstrators demanding Mr. Rama’s resignation have set fire to government buildings and banks, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to throw at police. The unrest, which followed months of largely peaceful summer protests against a luxury coastal development backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, poses the biggest challenge yet to Mr.
Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term in office last year.
“These (ruling lawmakers) are criminals and they deserve tear gas, rubber bullets, cracked skulls and broken bones, not the young people,” Opposition leader Sali Berisha said during his speech before his microphone was cut off.
