Clashes between police and opponents of Albania’s Socialist government broke out in Tirana for a third straight day Thursday, as Prime Minister Edi Rama rejected calls for his resignation.
Protesters threw rocks at a police line outside Albania’s Education Ministry, prompting officers to use tear gas and water cannons, The Associated Press reported.
The latest confrontation followed Wednesday’s unrest, when demonstrators targeted government buildings, banks and businesses. A total of 89 people were injured, including 61 police officers.
“As for calls for my resignation, governments are changed through democratic elections. We had elections last year, not a revolution,” Rama told Reuters on Thursday.
Riot police officers detain a hooded protester during clashes near the Ministry of Education in Tirana, Albania, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)
“My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” Rama said. “The alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership.”
Thursday’s demonstrations brought together student groups demanding education reforms and a broader anti-government movement opposing a major development project associated with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the AP reported.
A protester pushes a riot police officer’s shield during an anti-government demonstration in Tirana, Albania, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)
The movement, known as the “flamingo” movement, is demanding Rama’s resignation over allegations of widespread corruption. Its name comes from the pink-bird signs carried by protesters.
“The message from the streets is clear: Albanians have had enough. Public patience with Edi Rama’s socialist government has come to an end,” Agim Nesho, Albania’s former ambassador to the United States, told News Media on Thursday.
“The wheels are coming off Edi Rama’s socialist government. After 13 years in power, his administration faces mounting accusations of corruption, misuse of public funds and political favoritism,” Nesho said. He pointed to poverty, unemployment, inadequate public services and the mass departure of young Albanians seeking better opportunities in Europe as drivers of public anger. Critics, he added, say the political elite has prospered while ordinary citizens struggle to make ends meet, as they have under other failed socialist governments.
An EU delegation in Albania urged authorities late Wednesday to respond proportionately, saying it was concerned by “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana.”
Protesters set fire to a barricade during clashes near the Education Ministry in Tirana, Albania, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)
Rama won a fourth term as prime minister last year after campaigning on Albania’s goal of joining the European Union. The country hopes to achieve membership as early as 2028, according to Reuters.
Student organizers told Reuters that their concerns include rising higher-education costs, limited financial assistance, university conditions and employment prospects after graduation.
Rama told the news agency that he was prepared to discuss education costs, but insisted that “attacking institutions, destroying public property and threatening public safety have nothing to do with the legitimate demands of students.”
Hooded protesters smash a storefront window during clashes in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (Hameraldi Agolli/AP)
“Corruption must be confronted and, as the EU itself has recently reaffirmed, Albania is tackling it as never before,” Rama said. “Perhaps some forces, at home and abroad, do not want Albania to succeed as a forerunner for EU membership. But I will not allow violence to derail Albania’s European future.”