TIRANA, April 10 /ATA/ – Albania’s opposition has raised concerns over what it describes as the erosion of parliamentary oversight and democratic standards, according to a report sent to diplomatic missions in the country by the head of Democratic Party’s parliamentary group Gazment Bardhi.
Bardhi said on Friday the report outlines what he called the “systematic dismantling” of the opposition’s constitutional rights in parliament and a broader decline in legislative standards.
According to the document, during the first six months of the current legislature “the ruling majority has rejected a range of oversight mechanisms requested by the opposition, including investigative committees, interpellations, motions for debate and requests for information.”
The report also highlights concerns over the opposition’s exclusion from transparency processes linked to European Union integration, as well as the alleged failure to implement rulings of the Constitutional Court.
“The political stance of the majority to block every constitutional right of the opposition, the rejection of any legislative initiative, and its exclusion from appointments to independent institutions and from the integration process, renders the role of opposition MPs not only negligible but effectively a facade of false normality,” the report said.
It warned that such conditions undermine the basic principles of democratic parliamentary functioning and called into question the opposition’s ability to fulfil its role.
The document adds that while the opposition remains committed to operating within institutional frameworks, it will not accept what it describes as violations of its constitutional rights.
It concludes that Albania’s ambition to join the European Union must be accompanied by genuine democratic standards and the proper functioning of institutions, starting with parliament.
The report was also formally submitted to Speaker of Parliament Niko Peleshi.
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