2017 Albanian opposition protest
| 2017 Albanian opposition protest | |||
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The Tent of Freedom, where the opposition held daily meetings with the supporters during the protest
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| Date | 18 February 2017 – 18 May 2017 (3 months) |
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| Location |  Albania |
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| Goals | |||
| Methods | Demonstrations, civil disobedience, civil resistance, election boycott | ||
| Status | ongoing | ||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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Albanian Opposition
The 2017 Albanian opposition protest is a series of ongoing anti-government protests focused in Tirana following a long political conflict over the level of government corruption, the drug's situation in Albania and the fear of electoral fraud in the upcoming parliamentary elections, accusing the socialist government of trying to manipulate the voting process.
Thousands of protesters gathered on the main boulevard in Tirana, on February 18 to demand free elections and a technocrat government, after that a tent was pitched and it was called by the opposition as The Tent of Freedom, from where the opposition held daily meetings with the supporters. During that day it was announced that the opposition will boycott the parliament until the government will accept to dialogue with the government, on forming a technocrat government.
The drug situation in Albania and the war on illegal trade became a big problem and concern for the international community. In the months before the protest, Albania was being called by many as the Cannabis Capital of Europe or Europe's Colombia. Albania has had problems with cannabis farming in the past, but 2016 deserved to be called the year of cannabis. According to the Albanian police, over 2.5 million cannabis plants were destroyed and 5,204 fields identified. The new element is the geographic spread throughout the entire country. The drug lords had also changed their strategy and the opposition accused the government, especially the than Minister of Interior Affairs of Albania, Saimir Tahiri, of being involved in the cannabis production.
In the beginning of 2017, the Democratic Party started raising concerns on the upcoming electoral process, calling for an electronic voting and counting process in June to prevent vote manipulation. The government considered the implementation of an electronic voting system as impossible, due to limited time until the June elections and accused the opposition of blocking the integration process in EU and the passing of the key judicial reform.
The protest started on February 18. A week prior to that it was announced in the Albanian parliament, by democrat MP's that the opposition will boycott the parliament because of the current situation in the country. They demanded free elections and called a massive protest to be held on Saturday. During the protests thousands gathered in front of the Prime Minister's office, accusing the government of trying to manipulate the voting process. The Democratic Party was joined by other smaller parties like the Republican Party, the Unity for Human Rights Party, representing the Greek minority in Albania, the Environmentalist Agrarian Party, the Christian Democratic Party, Red and Black Alliance etc.
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Wikipedia