Albania’s Constitutional Court on Friday evening upheld the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku, rejecting a request from Prime Minister Edi Rama to overturn the measure.

The court’s eight-member panel was evenly split in the vote, with four justices siding with the prime minister and four supporting Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK), falling short of the five-vote quorum needed to reverse the suspension. The decision was announced by Chief Justice Fiona Papajorgji.

Balluku’s suspension from public office, initially imposed as part of anti-corruption proceedings, will remain in effect. The ruling comes after the court held three sessions on the matter, with previous meetings delayed as some justices requested additional time to review the case.

The court convened a marathon session Friday to issue the ruling. The case has attracted significant public attention, as a decision to maintain or overturn Balluku’s suspension could affect SPAK’s ongoing requests to lift her immunity and pursue potential arrest related to alleged misconduct in public tenders.

Under Albanian law, multiple security measures cannot be applied simultaneously to a single official. If the court had ruled the suspension unconstitutional, SPAK could have pursued her arrest, leaving only restrictions on travel abroad in place.