• Albania’s Prime Minister, Rama, faces anti-government protests in the capital Tirana after his former Deputy PM was charged with corruption.
• Rama successfully campaigned for a Parliament vote to block her arrest, limiting SPAK’s ability to investigate acting government members.
• Despite domestic backlash, Rama continues pursuing governance goals unobstructed by advancing EU accession talks.

Why is Edi Rama MILD?

Answer: A year after winning the elections, Rama removed his Deputy Prime Minister after corruption charges, but has not been connected to the crimes himself.

Edi Rama’s Socialist Party (PS) won the 2025 Albanian Parliamentary elections on May 11th, making him Prime Minister for his fourth consecutive term. The PS won 83 out of the 140 available seats, 9 more seats than in the previous term, leaving Rama with a majority over the opposition Democratic Party (PD). Since their election win over a year ago, Edi Rama and the PS have been facing a political scandal in the form of a corruption probe into former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku.

The aforementioned scandal publicly began on October 31st of 2025, when the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) launched its investigation into Balluku. The probe revolved around multiple construction projects she oversaw while serving as the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy under Edi Rama’s previous government in 2020. In November, SPAK charged Balluku for awarding multi-million Euro government contracts to favoured construction companies, with no evidence so far connecting Rama to the decision himself. Should SPAK find The Prime Minister to have instructed his Cabinet member to award a preferred firm, this would be a major breach of tender rules and could constitute a separate investigation into him.

He had established SPAK himself as part of a 2016 Judicial Reform to be in charge of investigating high-level corruption, with the support of the European Union. Within less than a decade, SPAK charged multiple prominent Albanian politicians, including the previous PM Sali Berisha and the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj. The indiscriminate selection of politicians charged by SPAK in a country often defined by bipartisan polarisation helped make the institution one of the most trusted in the country. Therefore, any politician charged by SPAK is discredited by the population irrespective of their party, making the institution particularly influential and difficult to contend with, even by the Prime Minister.

The Albanian PM eventually removed Balluku from her position on February 26th, 2026, as part of a 7-member Cabinet reshuffle that was framed as unrelated to the investigations. Previously, he had refused to suspend Balluku despite SPAK requests to do so, discrediting the claim that the reshuffle was unconnected to the charges. It is important to note that Balluku was one of Rama’s closest advisors and was under consideration as a potential successor to the PS leader. The previously mentioned, Veliaj, was also a close Rama ally prior to his indictment. However, he was able to reaffirm his control over his party by successfully campaigning for a Parliament vote to uphold Balluku’s immunity against arrest.  

What is changing Rama’s heat level?

Answer: Rama secured a vote protecting Balluku from arrest, demonstrating his legislative control despite opposition protest.

On March 12th, 2026, the Albanian Parliament held a vote on whether to remove Balluku’s parliamentary immunity as SPAK sought to place her under arrest. Rama campaigned to sustain her immunity and criticised SPAK, arguing that arresting an acting lawmaker would give the institution too much unregulated power. He also suggested a future amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, which would limit SPAK’s ability to investigate acting Cabinet members.

His campaign worked as 82 lawmakers, composed of 79 PS and 3 Social Democratic Party (PSD) members, voted to preserve Balluku’s immunity against the 47 PD lawmakers voting to remove it. By receiving this successful majority vote from Parliament members, Rama displays both his control over the legislative branch. Future constraints on SPAK, like the proposed Criminal Code amendment, can help Rama further protect his government from investigation.

The results served in Rama’s favour as SPAK’s ability to punish acting members of government was severely limited, which PD leader Sali Berisha condemned. The opposition leader has mobilised numerous protests in response to the corruption investigation, which he claims acts as direct evidence of the highest-level corruption at the head of the party. The protests have been consistently organised since February.

However, the scale and success of the protests have been limited by their top-down nature, with Berisha himself having been charged for corruption by SPAK five years prior. This limits the opposition’s ability to pressure Rama into stepping down, who is unlikely to call snap elections until the scheduled 2029 vote. The Alabanian PM is therefore secure in his position to govern, despite multiple imprisoned allies and a vocal but unpopular opposition.

What is driving Rama?

Answer: Albanian EU membership has been a core governance goal for Rama since 2013, with a self-appointed 2030 deadline to completion.

Since his first term in 2013, Edi Rama has focused his campaign promises on four ‘pillars’: economic revitalisation, restoration of public order, democratisation of state institutions, and European integration. The latter pillar has been among the most prominent in political debate, as critics claim he has failed to keep his promise as Albania is yet to join the EU.

Rama and the PS, however, point to the numerous accession steps the country has taken since his first premiership, including earning official candidate status and opening all negotiation books. Although no official timeline exists, Rama has unofficially set 2030 as the year by which Albania will become a member, giving him another opportunity to campaign on EU accession next election cycle.

Although the EU initially warned that the March vote to preserve Balluku’s Parliamentary immunity hinders Albania’s rule of law by limiting SPAK’s ability to investigate, his accession negotiations have since remained unaffected. In May, the union announced Albania met its interim benchmarks for cluster 1, and Commissioner for Enlargement Kos stated Albania was in the “concluding phase” of enlargement discussions. Rama’s continued progress in EU negotiations, despite rule of law concerns displayed by the restrictions on SPAK, demonstrates the Prime Minister’s ability to continue pursuing his governance goals unobstructed. 

What does this mean for you?

Answer: With control over Parliament displayed, Rama is likely to continue his policy goals while attempting future votes to further consolidate power.

Rama’s proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code would require an enhanced qualified majority vote, meaning at least 84 out of 140 votes available. Based on the current seat distribution, this would require all PS and at least one more lawmaker to vote for the amendment. Three PSD members had already voted along PS party lines in March, possibly emboldening him to pursue this proposition. Such an amendment would endanger rule of law considerations in EU negotiations, especially as the Criminal Code needs to be ‘strengthened’ for accession purposes. Considering this, Rama is likely to follow EU amendments suggestions, and avoid further limits on SPAK for now. 

The March Parliament vote confirmed Rama’s strong control over the Albanian legislative branch despite the severe backlash from the main opposition PD party and their supporters. The distribution of parliament seats is unlikely to change till the next 2029 elections. With his political power consolidated, He is set to continue pursuing his main policy goals, including EU membership.