After months of defending his deputy and Minister of Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku, who faces allegations of manipulating public tenders, Edi Rama finally dismissed her on Thursday night.Albanian Prime Minister Under Pressure Dismisses Deputy Accused of Corruption Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who is accused of manipulating public tenders. Photo: LSA. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday dismissed his Deputy PM and Minister of Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku, who faces allegations of manipulating public tenders. The dismissal, confirmed off the record to BIRN by a government official, came three months after the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK, declared charges against Balluku for interfering with public tenders in several cases of road constructions. She denies the charges. In a lengthy speech at a meeting with the Socialists parliamentary group and ministers late on Thursday, Rama accused SPAK prosecutors of abusing subpoenas and arrests and accused the courts of interfering with the independence of the executive branch. Rama said that, as Prime Minister, he could not accept the price that some other countries have paid, where he said “anti-corruption has become a cure more harmful than the disease of corruption itself”. The issue of Balluku has raged for months after Rama strongly opposed the security measure that the Court against Corruption and Organised Crime imposed, suspending her from duty. The government took that decision to the Constitutional Court with the argument that the court and prosecution were interfering with government work. In February however, the Constitutional Court ruled that Balluku should be suspended. At the same time, SPAK asked parliament to remove her immunity, to pave the way for her arrest. Rama has vocal criticised justice institutions over the Balluku case, claiming their activity interferes unjustly with government work. Ten days after the Constitutional Court decided to suspend Balluku,his ruling Socialist Party proposed law changes that would exempt high officials from such measures. If approved, the changes would prohibit the Constitutional Court from suspending the President, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, the Ombudsman, the head of the High State Audit office and members of the Constitutional Court itself. Currently, this kind of immunity is enjoyed only by elected officials such as MPs, mayors and members of municipal councils. A vote in parliament on removing Balluku’s immunity is expected on March 6. --- Original source: https://balkaninsight.com/2026/02/27/albanian-prime-minister-under-pressure-dismisses-deputy-accused-of-corruption/
Trending