Marathon session/ Parliament approves four draft laws, Rama goes alone for the vote

2026-05-08 08:02:00, Aktualitet CNA

Marathon session/ Parliament approves four draft laws, Rama goes alone for the

The Albanian Parliament held its next plenary session yesterday, where it approved four draft laws, one normative act and six draft decisions, while several opposition initiatives were defeated by majority votes.

The session began with a minute of silence in honor of the former Speaker of the Assembly, Servet Pëllumbi, after his passing. The minutes of the session of May 4, 2026 were then approved and the Speaker of the Assembly, Niko Peleshi, presented the agenda.

At the beginning of the proceedings, two interpellations requested by Democratic Party deputies were held, one with Prime Minister Edi Rama, delegated to the Minister for Parliamentary Relations, Erjona Ismaili, and the other with the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enea Karakaçi.

While Prime Minister Edi Rama was absent from the interpellation, he only went to parliament at the moment of voting on the draft laws.

Among the most important acts approved was the normative act amending the law "On excise duties in the Republic of Albania", which passed with 85 votes in favor and 25 against.

The Assembly also approved the amending agreement for the Montenegro-Albania IPA cross-border cooperation program 2021–2027, with 108 votes in favor and only one abstention.

Amendments to the law "On citizenship", the draft law on amendments to the law "On inspection in the Republic of Albania", as well as the draft law "On electronic identification, trusted services and digital identity portfolio" were also approved by a majority vote.

On the other hand, the Parliament rejected several draft laws proposed by the opposition and the Freedom Party, including amendments to the law on national taxes, excise duties, and the draft law on the response mechanism to fuel supply and price crises.

During the session, several appointments to important institutions were also voted on. Ahmet Prençi was elected Commissioner in the Office of the Ombudsman for the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, while Alma Faskaj was appointed Commissioner for the Protection and Promotion of Children's Rights.

Likewise, Genta Tafa was elected Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, while Merita Bejtja took on the role of Inspector General of the Bank of Albania.

At the end of the session, the Assembly also approved the structure and organizational structure of the Water Regulatory Authority, while the proceedings were closed at around 00:35./ CNA