Parliament
Chaos in Parliament: Noka grabs Balla's microphone, PD blocks the podium and PS votes bills by show of cards
Thursday's plenary session, whose agenda included an urgent interpellation of Interior Minister Ervin Demo, turned into a physical clash between lawmakers, while outside students protested for a 10th day.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 22, 2026, 11:17 · Updated 12:25 · 2 min read
In brief
- Flamur Noka yanked the microphone from Socialist group leader Taulant Balla, and the session was briefly suspended.
- After the opposition blocked the podium, Speaker Niko Peleshi moved the session straight to a vote, held with voting cards because the electronic system had been damaged.
- The Socialists swiftly passed the bills on the agenda while the Democrats chanted “Free the students!”
The plenary session of Albania's Parliament, the first since last week's postponement because of the protests, took place Thursday amid intense tension and physical clashes between majority and opposition lawmakers. The agenda opened with an urgent interpellation of Interior Minister Ervin Demo, requested by a group of Democratic Party lawmakers over the State Police's response to protesters.
The agenda also included interpellations of Infrastructure Minister Enea Karakaçi and Finance Minister Petrit Malaj, the creation of a special committee on the second phase of the administrative-territorial reform, and several bills, among them the law on preventing money laundering, changes to payment services, ratification of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer and an agreement with North Macedonia on joint border crossing points.
The microphone, the podium and the cards
Tensions erupted almost immediately after Speaker Niko Peleshi opened the session. The Democrats demanded a debate on the violence against students, and lawmaker Flamur Noka pulled the microphone away from Socialist parliamentary group leader Taulant Balla while he was speaking. The session was briefly suspended and the Parliament Guard was deployed in the chamber.
When the session resumed, the Democratic Party (PD) lawmakers gathered around the podium, overturned chairs and shouted “Your end has come!” and “Free the students!” Peleshi moved the session directly to a vote without debate. According to Euronews Albania, the vote was held with voting cards because the electronic system had been damaged. Noka and several colleagues tried to take the cards from Socialist lawmakers, and the same outlet reported that Democratic lawmaker Fidel Kreka clashed physically with former Interior Minister Ervin Hoxha, a Socialist.
Majority passes, opposition boycotts
Despite the chaos, the Socialists pressed ahead with a fast-tracked vote on the bills on the agenda, while the opposition boycotted the vote and banged on their desks. Media reports from the chamber did not say whether the interpellation of Minister Demo took place. The session was closed after the vote.
Outside the building, fenced off with metal barriers and ringed by large numbers of police since the morning, students and university lecturers protested for a 10th straight day, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
