The Ulcinj police confirmed that tear gas was indeed released on the night of May 29, 2024, during an extraordinary session of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly, which was interrupted to address the removal of former Mayor Omer Bajraktari (Civil Movement URA).

The Police Directorate informed “Vijesti” that officials from the Ulcinj Security Department took necessary measures to establish all the circumstances surrounding the activation of the tear gas in the City Council building, and that, following orders from the Basic State Prosecutor (ODT), an official case file was created and submitted to the prosecutor’s office for evaluation and further action.

The police did not respond to inquiries regarding the contents of the camera footage and communication logs, which the Ulcinj ODT had requested to be reviewed.

When the incident took place, the ODT announced to “Vijesti” that investigators were working to determine if it was tear gas, pepper spray, or another substance that had been released. Initial findings indicated that tear gas may not have been used, suggesting some other chemical agent was deployed.

As of now, the identities of those responsible for the incident remain elusive to the investigating authorities one year later.

On May 14, in response to questions from “Vijesti”, the ODT confirmed that a case has been opened concerning the incident involving the unidentified chemical device, against unknown perpetrators.

“We also want to inform you that the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office has requested the Ulcinj police to gather information, mandating officers to undertake the necessary legal measures to discover and identify the offenders, but the officers of the Police Directorate have not yet identified the individuals in question,” the ODT stated at that time.

“Vijesti” reported in late August of the previous year that the most recent evidentiary action taken was obtaining a list of communications.

“This evidentiary action has been referred to the Police Directorate. So far, no report has been submitted by the Police Directorate,” the Ulcinj prosecutor’s office informed the newspaper at that moment.

The incident transpired late at night during an extraordinary session of the Ulcinj parliament, as discussions regarding the dismissal of Mayor Bajraktari were underway when an unidentified chemical device was thrown, resulting in chaos in the municipal hall. Council members exited the hall and gathered outside the municipality building, where ambulances and police vehicles were also present. Thankfully, no injuries were reported following the incident.

The extraordinary session of the Municipal Assembly resumed shortly after, and past midnight, Bajraktari was dismissed with the votes of the 20 councilors in attendance. Subsequently, the new assembly majority elected Genci Nimanbegu (Forca) as the new head of the Municipality.

Political tensions on the Ulcinj stage began in April last year, roughly a month before the planned rotation of the mayoral positions held by Bajraktari and Ardijan Mavrić (Forca).

The government in Ulcinj was established post-2022 elections by the coalition “For a New Start” (Civil Movement URA, Democratic Party, Social Democrats, Social Democratic Party, and Albanian Alternative) along with Forca.

However, this majority existed only nominally in the spring of the previous year, as the Civil Movement URA and Albanian Alternative had entered into an agreement with the then-opposition Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) for the latter to take power locally. Speculation arose that the Civil Movement URA aimed to remove Forca from power through this maneuver.

The Democratic Party, Social Democrats, and Social Democratic Party disagreed with this scenario, prompting Forca to forge an agreement with them and the Democratic Party of Socialists to create a new ruling coalition, which has a mandate to govern until the regular local elections scheduled for early 2026.

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