Description: Protesters took to the streets in Albania’s capital, Tirana, after the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku was indicted on corruption charges. Previously, physical clashes between ministers of parliament broke out, after the scandal was uncovered which now spiral out of control and spill over the streets of the country’s capital. Balluku was accused of embezzlement and corruption as she favored certain companies for the development of vital infrastructure projects in the millions of dollars in return for kickbacks. Protesters called for the government’s disbandment and likened Prime Minister Edi Rama with Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Rama’s Socials Party holds 83 majority seats in the 140 – seat Parliament. The oppositional Democratic Party has called for a vote to lift Balluku’s immunity which would allow the prosecution to file charges against her.
Impact: Albania is entering a phase of political crisis since even if the scandal with the Deputy Prime Minister is legally resolved, the public outrage combined with the political pressure from the opposition could precipitate a larger scale of public unrest. Edi Rama’s Socialist Party has been ruling the country since 2013 and has been repeatedly accused of widespread corruption, which in return impedes Albania’s chances to become a member of the EU as one of the leading countries from the Balkans. The crisis adds to the wider political and public dissatisfaction since protesters toppled Bulgaria’s government earlier this month, while a rowing political crises in Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Hercegovina threaten to further cause regional instability.