The DP Parliamentary Group is reporting Assembly Speaker Niko Peleshi for "abuse of office." According to the DP, the reason was the blocking of the Mandates Council meeting on the Balluku issue.
The DP Parliamentary Group has made several requests to the Assembly to convene the Mandates Council on the issue related to Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, for which SPAK is demanding her arrest. Meanwhile, Peleshi, despite the requests, has not convened the Council. Attached is the press release of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group.
PRESS CONFERENCE
The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group has filed a criminal complaint for committing the criminal offense of "Abuse of Office" against the Speaker of the Assembly, Niko Peleshi.
It turns out that with letter no. 43019 prot., dated 16.12.2025, the Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime has submitted a request for authorization from the Assembly for the arrest/deprivation of liberty of the MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku. At the request of the President of the Assembly, the Council for Regulation, Mandates and Immunity met on 19.12.2025, at 10:30, to review this request. Arbitrarily, without a decision of the Council, the President of the Assembly has interrupted the meeting, without scheduling the next meeting, with the justification according to him to give time to the members and parties to familiarize themselves with the documents accompanying the Prosecutor's request.
Using the right granted to them by Article 13, point 6, of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, the 5 deputies of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, members of the Council, have repeatedly requested a meeting of the Council on Rules of Procedure, Mandates and Immunity, respectively with the requests dated December 22, December 23, December 29, December 30, 2025 and January 6, 2026. In the content of these requests, the deputies have reasoned that given the previous precedents, the time has been more than sufficient to familiarize themselves with the acts and prepare the defense, as well as taking into account the position of the Prosecutor's Office expressed in writing and orally during the first meeting regarding the urgent nature of this request and the destruction of evidence (intimidation of witnesses) by the defendant Belinda Balluku, it is necessary for the Council to meet as soon as possible to continue the consideration of the request, in order not to become an obstacle to the progress of the investigations.
Although the Speaker of the Assembly, Niko Peleshi, referred to Article 13, point 6, of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, had the obligation to convene the Council and announce the agenda, he has rejected the repeated requests of five members of the Council, in a completely arbitrary and illegal manner, while simultaneously violating the legal right of the deputies to convene the Council meeting, and as a result of unjustified delays, the progress of the Special Prosecution's investigations. Under these conditions, it is clear that citizen Niko Peleshi, acting as Speaker of the Assembly, has consumed the four elements of the objective side of the criminal offense of "Abuse of office", by refusing to convene the Council meeting and the notification of the agenda (inaction), in violation of Article 13, point 6, of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly (in violation of the law), by abusing his function as Speaker of the Assembly (public function), thus damaging the right of deputies to convene the Council and the progress of criminal investigations (damaging the interests of the state and citizens).
