TIRANA, Jan 20 /ATA/ – Albania’s Parliamentary Bureau on Tuesday extended the suspension of six opposition lawmakers until March, prompting sharp criticism from the Democratic Party (DP), which said the move violated parliamentary rules.
The Bureau met to review appeals filed by the suspended opposition MPs and decided to prolong their ban from the original 30 days to nearly three months.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, main opposition DP lawmaker Flamur Noka said parliament had been “taken hostage” and no longer reflected the voters’ will.
“Parliament has been turned into a den of crime and drugs and is no longer an institution representing Albanian citizens,” Noka said. “Any opposition MP who speaks the truth and refers to facts and evidence about the criminalization of the state is declared an enemy.”
Noka said the extension of the suspensions breached parliament’s rules of procedure and the statute governing lawmakers.
He said the ban runs from December 23 to March 3, barring the lawmakers from entering parliament.
“Although our mandate comes from the citizens, Prime Minister Edi Rama wants to temporarily take it away from us,” Noka said.
He announced that the decision would be appealed in the administrative court.
Parliament’s Secretariat for Procedures, Voting and Ethics suspended the six Democratic Party lawmakers – Belind Këlliçi, Albana Vokshi, Klevis Balliu, Elda Hoti, Flamur Noka and Fidel Kreka – following disorder in parliament during the Dec. 18 session.
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