Thursday’s plenary session was once again accompanied by tensions and debates between the opposition Re-establishment deputies and the Socialist majority.
Legislators from the opposition blocked the rostrum of the Assembly and used sirens to prevent the normal course of a regular session.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Lindita Nikolla, went straight to voting on the draft laws scheduled on the agenda of the Assembly’s proceedings.
Upon the proposal of the head of the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party, Bledi Çuçi, the draft law on gambling was removed from the agenda.
Socialist Party deputies rejected the security amendment that provided for financial aid of 50 million US dollars for Kosovo, proposed in the Assembly by the leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha.
While the Parliament was voting on the draft laws, Democratic Party deputy, Edi Paloka, burned the Assembly’s regulations.
There was also a clash between opposition deputies, where Petrit Doda from the Re-establishment faction clashed with Democrat deputy Enkelejd Alibeaj, approaching him and engaging in a heated discussion.
The intervention of the guards was necessary to normalize the situation.
Within 25 minutes, the majority approved all the acts scheduled on the agenda without discussion.
Tensions rose even ahead of the plenary session, as Democrat deputy Flamur Noka threw flour at the guards positioned in front of the Assembly Hall, in order not to allow a handful of Democrat deputies to enter, as they have been excluded from Parliament following previous acts of chaos.
Noka threw flour even to the Secretary General of the Assembly, Genc Gjonçaj, ahead of the session, while opting to throw eggs at the car of Interior Minister Taulant Balla, as the latter was leaving the Parliament premises.
Noka did not spare clashes even with fellow Democrats, as he reportedly called Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha “a traitor”, while he was leaving Parliament, as his proposal to financially aid Kosovo was overthrown by Socialist deputies.
Another Democrat deputy, Dashnor Sula, went dressed as a US dollar bill to the Parliament, in order to remind people that the Government will now “launder money through gambling and betting”. The draft law on gambling, however, was removed from the agenda.
The group of deputies under Sali Berisha’s Re-establishment faction has warned of a protest on February 20, described by them as “a great day for the opposition”.
Noka even mentioned civil disobedience from now on.
The head of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party, Gazment Bardhi, also emphasized that the opposition action will not stop until they are granted their Constitutional rights.
Bardhi mentioned that opposition deputies are ready to take their protest one step further, either by locking themselves in the Assembly Hall, or initiating a hunger strike.
