Albania's parliament has suspended six Democratic Party lawmakers from plenary sessions and committee work for 60 days following physical clashes with governing Socialist Party MPs, the parliament's Secretariat for Procedures, Voting and Ethics said on October 24.
The clashes inside parliament erupted after daily violent protests on the streets of Tirana and other Albanian cities, with student-led demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The disciplinary body also upheld warnings issued to 14 other opposition deputies following incidents during the October 22 plenary session, according to a parliamentary statement.
The six suspended lawmakers are Flamur Noka, Belind Këlliçi, Fidel Kreka, Edi Paloka, Besart Xhaferri and Luçiano Boçi. The sanctions followed a request by Socialist Party deputies for disciplinary action against 20 members of the opposition Democratic Party.
The secretariat said the request concerned "serious incidents" during the session, including insults, provocations and physical attacks that disrupted parliamentary proceedings. It was chaired by Ulsi Manja and met online to consider the case.
The clashes erupted when opposition lawmakers moved towards the governing party's benches to retrieve voting cards, according to local media reports. The confrontation escalated, with Democratic Party lawmaker Fidel Kreka reportedly striking a ballot paper and pushing former interior minister Ervin Hoxha, triggering a wider physical altercation involving MPs from both sides.
Opposition MPs also held up photographs of rubber bullet wounds and other injuries sustained by protesters in the ongoing demonstrations.
The Socialist Party had sought suspensions ranging from 10 to 60 days, accusing opposition lawmakers of blocking the parliamentary rostrum, disrupting voting and damaging equipment. Those allegations formed the basis of its disciplinary request.
The opposition has repeatedly accused the government of corruption and abuse of power, while parliamentary sessions have seen protests and obstruction by Democratic Party lawmakers.