Thousands of anti-government protesters violently confronted riot police outside government buildings in the Albanian capital Tirana earlier this week as people called for the government’s resignation following a massive corruption scandal.
Albania’s main opposition party called on people to take to the streets and demand the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku after she was indicted by a special prosecutor who alleged she was improperly influenced in her decision to favor one company in a tender to build a 6.7-kilometer tunnel in southern Albania.
Albania’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime suspended Balluku from the government in November, but Prime Minister Edi Rama referred the issue to the country’s Constitutional Court, which reinstated Balluku in December.
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Anti-government protests in the Albanian capital Tirana escalated tension on Tuesday, February 10, when demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at the Prime Minister’s office on February 10, 2026. (Anadolu Agency via Reuters)
Balluku denied the allegations, calling the accusations against her tantamount to “mudslinging, innuendo, half-truths and lies.” Rama has refused to fire her.
The corruption allegations sparked widespread outrage and sparked protests in recent months.
“For more than a decade in power, Rama has been accused of centralizing authority and personalizing state institutions, while his government faces persistent accusations of collaboration with organized crime and the misuse of public funds and resources for the benefit of politically connected clients,” Nesho alleged.
Police officers hold shields outside the Prime Minister’s office during an anti-government protest sparked by a corruption investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, in Tirana, Albania, February 10, 2026. (Florion Goga/Reuters)
The murky circumstances surrounding Rama’s most important ally and the lack of accountability reinforce the feeling in Albanian society that their government is rife with corruption. With both the incumbent government and opposition figures accused of corruption, public confidence in institutions and the justice system has been steadily eroded.
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Albania has a long history of government corruption and ranks 91st out of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The protests turned violent on Tuesday when supporters of Berisha’s opposition Democratic Party threw stones and Molotov cocktails at government offices in Tirana. Security forces responded with water cannons and tear gas.
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama (R) and Deputy Prime Minister of Albania and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku (R) attend a press conference in the Shpirag region of Berat Province, Albania on August 23, 2023. (Albanian Prime Minister/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Berisha claims that the protests have been peaceful and that people are merely expressing their opposition to Rama’s increasingly autocratic rule and his attacks on the justice system.
According to the Associated Press, at least 16 protesters were treated for injuries and 13 demonstrators were arrested.
Observers in the region believe Berisha, who served as prime minister from 2005 to 2013 and faced his own corruption allegations, is aiming to overthrow Socialist Prime Minister and main political rival Rama and return to power.
The unrest in Albania comes as the country has long sought membership of the European Union, beginning in 2014 when it became an official candidate for accession. Although the European Commission’s 2025 annual report states that Albania has made significant progress in judicial reforms and the fight against organized crime, the latest allegations against Rami’s government will complicate the path to EU membership.
People gather during a demonstration in Tirana, the capital of Albania, in support of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who was under house arrest from December 2023 to November 2024 on corruption charges and is currently under judicial supervision of the Albanian Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and Organized Crime (GJPAKKO). (Olsi Shehu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The United States assisted in the implementation of Albania’s judicial reform process, including the establishment of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) invested millions to promote democratic progress in Albania, helping to combat Albania’s fight against corruption and strengthening its weak institutions.
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Ambassador Nesho warned that the US and the European Union must take Western Balkans policy seriously and help bring Albania closer to European integration.
“If Washington and Brussels continue to look the other way – and fail to enforce the rule of law, restore real checks and balances and sever the regime’s ties with organized crime and drug trafficking – Albania risks sliding into the orbit of an Eastern autocracy,” Nesho said.
