2019–2021 Albanian political crisis

2019–2021 Albanian political crisis
Date	16 February 2019 – 25 April 2021
Location	Albania, mainly Tirana
Caused by	Opposition allegations of vote-buying and electoral fraud Allegations of corruption and links between organised crime and politicians Opposition boycott of parliament Dispute over the 2019 Albanian local elections Conflict between Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Ilir Meta
Goals	Resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama Formation of a technocratic or caretaker government Early parliamentary elections Cancellation or postponement of the 2019 local elections Electoral reform
Methods	Demonstrations Civil disobedience Parliamentary boycott Mass resignation of opposition MPs Boycott of local elections Clashes with police
Result	Opposition failed to force Rama's resignation No technocratic government was formed No early parliamentary elections were held before the regular 2021 vote Opposition MPs relinquished their parliamentary mandates, but parliament continued with replacement MPs 2019 local elections were held without the main opposition parties Socialist Party won almost all municipalities OSCE/ODIHR stated that voters lacked a meaningful choice in the 2019 local elections Electoral reform agreement reached in June 2020 2021 Albanian parliamentary election held with the main opposition parties participating Socialist Party won a third consecutive parliamentary mandate
Parties
Democratic Party of Albania Socialist Movement for Integration Party for Justice, Integration and Unity Republican Party of Albania Other opposition parties and supporters Government of Albania Socialist Party of Albania State Police Presidency of Albania
Lead figures
Lulzim Basha Monika Kryemadhi Sali Berisha Edi Rama Gramoz Ruçi Sandër Lleshaj Ilir Meta

The 2019–2021 Albanian political crisis was a period of severe political confrontation in Albania between the opposition parties, the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama, and President Ilir Meta. The crisis began in February 2019 when the Democratic Party of Albania, the Socialist Movement for Integration and allied opposition parties organised mass protests demanding Rama's resignation, a technocratic government and early parliamentary elections.

The opposition accused Rama's Socialist Party of vote-buying, corruption and links with organised crime, especially after the publication of wiretaps concerning alleged electoral manipulation in previous elections. The government rejected the accusations and argued that the opposition was attempting to block elections and destabilise the country.

The crisis escalated when opposition MPs resigned their parliamentary mandates in February 2019 and the main opposition parties boycotted the 2019 Albanian local elections. President Meta attempted to cancel and later postpone the elections, but the government proceeded with the vote on 30 June 2019. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights stated that the elections were conducted in a generally peaceful and orderly manner, but that voters did not have a meaningful choice between political options.

The crisis continued into 2020 through disputes over electoral reform, the demolition of the National Theatre in Tirana and protests after the police killing of Klodian Rasha. In June 2020, the government, parliamentary opposition and extra-parliamentary opposition reached a political agreement on electoral reform, but later constitutional and Electoral Code changes again produced disagreement. The crisis effectively ended with the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election, in which the main opposition parties returned to electoral competition but the Socialist Party won a third consecutive mandate.

Background

The crisis followed earlier episodes of political polarisation in Albania, including the 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations and the 2017 Albanian opposition protest. Before the 2017 Albanian parliamentary election, the opposition had boycotted parliament and held a protest tent in central Tirana, demanding a caretaker government and electoral guarantees. The 2017 crisis was resolved through a political agreement between Rama and Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha, after which the opposition participated in the election.

The Socialist Party won the 2017 parliamentary election with an absolute majority. The Democratic Party and other opposition parties later accused the governing party of benefiting from vote-buying, pressure on voters and links with criminal groups. These allegations became central to the 2019 protests.

The political atmosphere was further strained by Albania's judicial vetting process and the temporary lack of a fully functioning Constitutional Court, which limited the ability of institutions to resolve disputes through constitutional review. Freedom House described 2019 as a year of institutional crisis in Albania, citing the resignation of the parliamentary opposition, the impeachment procedure against the president and conflict around the 2019 local elections.

Opposition protests and resignation of MPs

Main article: 2019 Albanian opposition protests

The first major national opposition protest was held in Tirana on 16 February 2019. Thousands of opposition supporters gathered outside the prime minister's office, demanding Rama's resignation and new elections. The protest turned violent when some demonstrators attempted to break through police lines and enter the building. Police used tear gas and water cannon, while some protesters threw objects and damaged the entrance to the prime minister's office.

After the protest, opposition leaders announced that their MPs would relinquish their parliamentary mandates. On 21 February 2019, opposition MPs formally handed in their resignation documents, arguing that parliament had lost legitimacy because of alleged electoral fraud and government links to organised crime.

The move was criticised by European Union officials. High Representative Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn stated that the decision to relinquish mandates seriously hindered the functioning of democracy and called on the opposition to engage in parliament rather than boycott it.

The Central Election Commission began replacing the resigned MPs with candidates from the 2017 electoral lists. Some candidates accepted mandates despite opposition party decisions, which allowed parliament to continue functioning and weakened the opposition boycott. Rudina Hajdari, daughter of Democratic Party founder Azem Hajdari, was among those who refused to leave parliament.

Disputed local elections

The next major stage of the crisis concerned the 2019 Albanian local elections, scheduled for 30 June 2019. The Democratic Party, Socialist Movement for Integration and allied parties refused to register candidates, arguing that elections under Rama could not be free and fair. The government insisted that the elections would be held on schedule.

On 8 June 2019, President Ilir Meta issued a decree cancelling the 30 June elections, saying that the political situation threatened public order and Albania's European integration process. Rama rejected the decree and accused Meta of acting beyond his constitutional powers. On 13 June, Meta set 13 October 2019 as a new election date, but the government again refused to recognise the decree.

The dispute led to clashes and attempts by opposition supporters in some municipalities to block election preparations. Electoral materials were damaged in several localities, and police intervened to protect polling infrastructure.

The elections took place on 30 June 2019 without the main opposition parties. The Socialist Party won almost all municipalities, often without meaningful competition. OSCE/ODIHR stated that voting was generally peaceful and orderly but that the elections were held in a climate of political standoff and polarisation, and that voters did not have a meaningful choice between political options.

Institutional conflict with the president

The dispute over the local elections produced a direct institutional clash between President Meta and the Socialist-controlled parliament. On 13 June 2019, parliament adopted a resolution declaring Meta's cancellation decree invalid, and the Socialist majority later began impeachment proceedings against him.

The Venice Commission issued an opinion in October 2019 on the scope of the president's power to set election dates. It found that the president had exceeded his constitutional powers by cancelling and postponing the elections without a specific legal basis, but also stated that the violation might not be serious enough to justify impeachment.

The conflict with Meta continued into 2021. In June 2021, after the parliamentary election, the outgoing parliament voted to dismiss him from office over alleged constitutional violations during the election campaign. The decision required review by the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court later overturned the dismissal in 2022, but that decision occurred after the period usually covered by the 2019–2021 crisis.

Wiretap allegations

A major issue during the crisis was the publication of wiretaps concerning alleged electoral manipulation. In June 2019, the German newspaper Bild published recordings from Albanian prosecution files which appeared to show conversations involving Socialist Party officials, local administrators and people accused of criminal connections during earlier elections, especially in Dibër County.

Rama denied wrongdoing and said the publication of the tapes was being used for political blackmail. The opposition argued that the recordings confirmed its claims that the 2017 parliamentary election and other electoral processes had been manipulated. The wiretap scandal became one of the main justifications used by the opposition for demanding a caretaker government and early elections.

International reactions

The crisis drew repeated reactions from the European Union, the United States, OSCE representatives and other international actors. After the first protest turned violent, foreign embassies condemned violence and called for dialogue. The OSCE Presence in Albania called on the organisers and perpetrators of violent incidents to bear responsibility.

The European Union was especially critical of the opposition's decision to abandon parliament. Mogherini and Hahn stated that political debate should take place inside parliament and warned that the opposition's move was counterproductive for Albania's democratic development and European integration.

International actors also pressed for electoral reform. Albania's EU accession process became closely tied to the need to implement OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, improve the functioning of democratic institutions and ensure cross-party dialogue.

Electoral reform in 2020

In January 2020, the ruling majority, parliamentary opposition and extra-parliamentary opposition agreed to establish a Political Council for Electoral Reform. The body included representatives of the Socialist Party, parliamentary opposition groups and the extra-parliamentary opposition, including the Democratic Party and Socialist Movement for Integration.

On 5 June 2020, after lengthy negotiations and international pressure, the Political Council reached an agreement on electoral reform. The agreement included the restructuring of the Central Election Commission, gradual depoliticisation of election administration, electronic voter identification where technically possible and other measures based on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.

Parliament adopted amendments to the Electoral Code on 23 July 2020 in line with the 5 June agreement. However, on 30 July 2020 parliament also adopted constitutional amendments concerning the electoral system, including changes related to candidate lists, the national threshold and pre-electoral coalitions. These changes were criticised by the extra-parliamentary opposition, which argued that they had been adopted without consensus.

The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR later stated that the 23 July amendments had resulted from an inclusive and consensus-based process, but criticised the later constitutional and Electoral Code amendments for being adopted with insufficient consultation and too close to the 2021 elections.

Related protest movements in 2020

The political crisis overlapped with other protest movements that were not solely organised by the parliamentary opposition but intensified anti-government mobilisation.

National Theatre demolition

Main article: National Theatre of Albania protests

On 17 May 2020, Albanian authorities demolished the National Theatre building in Tirana after more than two years of opposition from artists, activists and opposition politicians. The demolition triggered protests and clashes with police. Europa Nostra condemned the demolition and described it as damaging to cultural heritage and the rule of law in Albania.

The demolition occurred while the main opposition was outside parliament, and it was used by opposition parties as further evidence of what they described as authoritarian decision-making by the government.

Klodian Rasha protests

In December 2020, protests erupted after police shot and killed 25-year-old Klodian Rasha during a night-time COVID-19 curfew in Tirana. Demonstrators demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Sandër Lleshaj and clashed with police, who used tear gas and water cannon. Lleshaj resigned after the incident, and the protests continued for several days.

Although these protests were triggered by a police killing rather than the opposition boycott, they took place during the same broader period of institutional distrust and anti-government mobilisation.

2021 parliamentary election

Main article: 2021 Albanian parliamentary election

The 2021 Albanian parliamentary election was held on 25 April 2021. Unlike the 2019 local elections, the main opposition parties participated. The Democratic Party entered the election as part of the Democratic Party–Alliance for Change coalition, while the Socialist Movement for Integration ran separately.

OSCE/ODIHR concluded that the election offered voters a choice of candidates who could campaign freely and that fundamental freedoms were generally respected. However, it also found that the ruling party enjoyed a significant advantage because of its control of local administrations and misuse of administrative resources, while allegations of vote-buying were widespread during the campaign.

The Socialist Party won 74 of the 140 seats in parliament, securing a third consecutive mandate. The Democratic Party-led coalition won 59 seats, the Socialist Movement for Integration won 4 seats and the Social Democratic Party won 3 seats.

The election did not remove Rama from power, but it ended the period in which the main opposition parties had remained outside both parliament and local government. It is therefore generally treated as the end point of the 2019–2021 political crisis, even though political polarisation in Albania continued afterward.

Outcome and impact

The crisis failed to achieve the opposition's central aims. Rama did not resign, no caretaker or technocratic government was formed, and no early parliamentary elections were held before the regular 2021 vote. The 2019 local elections proceeded despite the opposition boycott and Meta's decrees, leaving the Socialist Party in control of almost all municipalities.

The opposition's resignation from parliament had mixed consequences. It drew attention to allegations of vote-buying and corruption, but it also removed the main opposition from formal legislative politics and allowed replacement MPs to fill many seats. Freedom House recorded declines in Albania's democratic governance and electoral-process ratings in 2020, citing the opposition's en bloc resignation, the impeachment procedure against the president and the local-election crisis.

The June 2020 electoral reform agreement was one of the few areas of compromise during the crisis. It addressed several OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and helped prepare the framework for the 2021 parliamentary election. However, later constitutional and Electoral Code changes adopted without full consensus renewed criticism from the extra-parliamentary opposition and international legal experts.

The 2021 election restored direct competition between the main parties, but it did not end Albania's political polarisation. Freedom House's 2022 report described Albanian democracy as having been tested by the election and noted continuing concerns over abuse of state resources, vote-buying allegations, weak institutions and polarised media.

See also

• 2019 Albanian opposition protests
• 2019 Albanian local elections
• 2021 Albanian parliamentary election
• 2017 Albanian opposition protest
• National Theatre of Albania protests
• Politics of Albania
• Edi Rama
• Lulzim Basha
• Ilir Meta