Opposition lawmakers from the Democratic Party (DP) of Albania unleashed chaos in parliament on Thursday, lighting flares, throwing water bottles at Speaker Niko Peleshi as he tried to restore order, and scuffling with police.

The riotous scene was the culmination of a months-long battle over corruption allegations.

Shabani is a young former law professor who would seem, on paper, to be a solid choice for Albania’s top human rights official. He entered the six-person race to succeed longtime ombudswoman Erinda Ballanca with approval from the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, and strong multi-partisan support.

Parliament convened in the capital city of Tirana on Thursday to swear in the next ombudsman, Endrit Shabani. 

Shabani unfortunately found himself in the midst of a long-brewing battle between the DP and the ruling Socialist Party and its political coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party. The problem was that Shabani ran for office in 2025 as a minor-party candidate and became embroiled in a heated political argument over who would occupy the contested parliamentary seat. He was the head of his Nisma Thurje Party until he resigned to run for ombudsman.

The ombudsman’s office is usually held by someone who is seen as outside partisan politics, so there was some grumbling about filling the slot with a professional politician. Shabani nevertheless managed to gain support from representatives from many parties.

When the time came to vote for ombudsman last Thursday, every member of the opposition DP abruptly withdrew their support for Shabani. The Socialist majority unilaterally decided to proceed with the vote and Shabani won with only Socialist and Social Democratic votes, a situation that had never occurred before.

“I am still surprised by the opposition MPs, who at first encouraged me with goodwill, gave me their signatures as required by law, and wished me success, but then decided to abandon my candidacy as if it had never been theirs,” Shabani wrote in a social media post last Friday.

The new ombudsman went on to congratulate the Socialist party for its “political maturity” in acting to resolve the “deadlock” created by the petulant DP, which enraged the opposition even further.

Running in the background of the ombudsman drama was the battle over Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who was embroiled in a controversy over improperly-awarded government construction contracts.

Balluku, a close ally of Prime Minister Edi Rama, was removed from office on November 21 by order of a “special court” established to fight corruption and organized crime. The Special Prosecutor’s office, known as SPAK, had indicted her for corruption and asked for parliament to lift her immunity so she could be placed under arrest.

Prime Minister Rama appealed the special court’s decision to Albania’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, which reinstated Balluku to her office last Friday. Rama argued that her suspension was “absurd as a concept” and set a “unique and dangerous precedent.”

These two political controversies collided in the parliament brawl on Thursday, as DP lawmakers violently disrupted Shabani’s swearing-in ceremony. Police intervened and scuffled with the angry parliamentarians when they rushed Speaker Peleshi’s podium.

Peleshi called on lawmakers to “respect the institution of the parliament” and cried, “We cannot destroy the state like this!” He was pelted with water bottles for his trouble.

Some DP lawmakers planted themselves in seats that were reserved for members of Rama’s Cabinet, and held up placards that denounced Rama as “The Noriega of Europe” – a reference to long-deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Other placards demanded Balluku resign and face the charges against her in court.

The opposition made the seemingly odd choice of harping on Noriega, who was overthrown in 1989 and died in 2017, because they see parallels between Noriega and Rama as corrupt dictators who were supported by the United States for geopolitical reasons.

The U.S. State Department has been careful to stay out of the political crisis brewing in Albania – a vital regional ally, NATO member, and aspiring member of the European Union – but behind the scenes, U.S. officials are said to be dismayed with how Rama has handled the corruption scandal, especially with his use of the Constitutional Court to reinstate Balluku and shield her from prosecution.