(ANSA) - TIRANA, FEB 18 - The parliamentary group of the
Democratic Party, the main party of the Albanian center-right
opposition led by Lulzim Basha, will no longer be part of the
National Assembly. This decision was made today unanimously by
the 43 Democratic MPs, (the Albanian parliament is composed of
140 seats) who have welcomed the proposal put forward last night
by Basha.
''We will support a political solution for a transitional
government, which should take the necessary steps to ensure that
early elections are held in accordance with international
standards'', Basha explained at the end of a long meeting of his
parliamentary group. The decision came after the violent
demonstration by the opposition last Saturday in front of the
government building. There were clashes between groups of
protesters who repeatedly assaulted the government building and
the police who responded with hydrants and tear gas.
The position of the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI),
which has 18 MPs, the second largest parliamentary group in the
opposition, is still uncertain. The majority led by the
socialist premier Edi Rama, with 78 seats, does not seem for now
to be concerned over the current situation. According to
Albanian media, today Rama asked the ruling majority to continue
the routine preparations for the general election at the end of
June. The opposition announced a new protest scheduled for
Thursday.(ANSA).
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