Police in Tirana, Albania, used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of opposition protesters blocking roads. The demonstrators, who accuse the government of corruption, are calling for the removal of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the establishment of a technocratic caretaker government.
The protesters, part of a growing civil disobedience movement, have been rallying almost weekly, demanding that a neutral administration take charge until the next parliamentary elections in 2025. Tedi Blushi, a leader from the opposition Freedom Party, vowed that the protests would continue until the government is overthrown.
Albania’s two main opposition figures, Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party and Ilir Meta of the Freedom Party, face corruption charges. They claim that Prime Minister Rama is using these charges to undermine them politically. Both leaders deny the accusations.
Rama, who has been in power since 2013 and plans to seek a fourth term next year, insists that the charges against the opposition leaders are not politically motivated. He accuses them of attempting to gain power through violent means. Berisha is currently under house arrest in connection with corruption charges from his time as prime minister, while Meta was arrested in late October over similar allegations from his presidency between 2017 and 2022.
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