TIRANA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama late on Thursday dismissed his deputy, Belinda Balluku, who faces accusations of manipulating public tenders, allegations that have sparked opposition protests.
A special prosecution office targeting corruption and organised crime, known as SPAK, indicted Balluku in December on suspicion of interfering in the awarding of two construction contracts in 2021 worth more than 200 million euros.
Parliament is expected to decide on March 5 whether to eliminate her immunity, which would allow SPAK to arrest her. Albania, which wants to join the European Union by 2030, faces pressure from the bloc to tackle corruption.
Balluku, who held the positions of deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister, denies wrongdoing.
Rama, who has been in power since 2013, stood by her for months and did not give a reason for dismissing her on Thursday in a reshuffle of seven roles in his Socialist Party administration including the defense and foreign ministers.
"The Prime Minister has clarified since the beginning of this term that reshuffles might be more frequent, while the last nearly four months he has refused three times the resignation of Mrs. Balluku," government spokesperson, Manjola Hasa, told Reuters in an emailed statement
Balluku has been seen as a rising star who was favored by Rama as a potential successor. Since her indictment, the country's biggest opposition party, the Democratic Party, has held protests demanding the resignation of Rama, whose government has been hit by several corruption scandals over the last year.
Protesters have thrown petrol bombs, and police and demonstrators have been injured.
European Union officials have told Reuters they were looking closely at Rama's handling of corruption cases and that the country's fight against crime and corruption are critical to the Balkan country's bid to join the bloc by 2030.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
