Albanian police fire tear gas at protesters calling for snap elections
A supporter of the opposition party attends an anti-government protest in front of the Parliament in Tirana, Albania March 16, 2019
Albanian police used tear gas on Saturday (March 16) to disperse protesters trying to break into parliament after marching twice around a nearby government building in a campaign for early elections.
The initially peaceful protest became violent when a small number in the several thousand-strong crowd began pushing and throwing stones at police protecting parliament. Some protesters and police suffered minor injuries.
The protest is the fifth since mid-February as the opposition seeks fresh elections after allegations of corruption and electoral fraud. Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party renounced their parliamentary seats in February but a dozen substitute lawmakers took them up.
Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha said Albania would not have peace until Prime Minister Edi Rama quits to allow free and fair elections.