TIRANA, Dec 4 /ATA/ – Parliament on Thursday rejected an opposition request for an interpellation with Prime Minister Edi Rama over the Special Court’s (GJKKO) decision to suspend Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure and Energy Minister Belinda Balluku.
Addressing parliament, Gazment Bardhi, head of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, accused Rama of turning the Prime Minister’s office “into a law firm for a defendant.”
“We want to know why the Prime Minister is still keeping as his number two someone indicted by SPAK. Why is he the first Prime Minister in the world to intervene in an ongoing investigation and, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, ask the Constitutional Court to overturn GJKKO’s suspension order? Why is the Prime Minister becoming a party to a case in which he is not?” Bardhi said.
He accused Rama of pressuring the Constitutional Court to issue a ruling “against justice.”
Referring to Venice Commission guidance in a case involving Kosovo, Bardhi said that “the suspension of a public official is a legitimate measure to protect investigations,” adding that the Commission suggested such measures could apply not only to ministers and government officials but also to elected representatives.
Bardhi also commented on parliamentary immunity, noting that MPs and cabinet members cannot be arrested, placed under house arrest or subjected to searches without parliament’s authorisation.
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