European Forum

Ruling party ahead of Socialists in key elections in Albania

On Sunday 28 June general elections were held in Albania. Early exit polls conducted by three independent organisations give Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha's right-wing Democratic Party a clear lead over the opposition Socialists. The elections were widely seen as a test to determine whether the country is ready for EU integration. While during the last elections large-scale fraud took place, this time the poll was "marked by improvements", but did not yet meet international standards, according to a statement of the international election observer mission.

Hours after the polls closed, there is still no official announcement from election officials, but independent exit polls by U.S. based Zogby, Italy's IPR Marketing and Kosovo based Gani Bobi all seemed to indicate that Berisha was headed for another term. They gave him 45 to 49 percent, or about five procent more than the Socialists, led by Tirana's mayor, Edi Rama. Both main parties had EU accession high amongst their priorities, as well as fighting widespread corruption and organised crime and improving living conditions in the country. "With these elections, which will be free and fair, Albanians will sign [their support] for the European project," Mr Berisha said when casting his vote.

The elections were observed by 3,000 national observers and a international mission that included more than 400 short-term and long-term election monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and a delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Also some 5,500 police officers were installed to maintain the order during the poll. The observers said the elections marked tangible progress with regard to the introduction of new voter registration and identification procedures, and the adoption of an improved legal framework. But the observers also noted that these improvements were overshadowed by the politicisation of technical aspects of the process and violations observed during the campaign, which undermined public confidence in the electoral process. “I'm certainly happy about the progress we saw, but there is also a considerable number of issues that need to be tackled, in particular the polarised political climate," said Wolfgang Grossuck Special Coordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission. "I can't say that these elections were perfect, because no election process is perfect, but these elections were far better than any other before," Mr Berisha stated to reporters after the voting process. Additionally, more than 200,000 of the 3.1 million voters had problems casting ballots because they did not have new identity cards. They citizens were casting ballots for 140 legislators, at least 30 percent of whom must be women. Though the election campaign had been marred by violence, including two deaths –among which a deputy of Albania's Socialist Party in the beginning of May- the day passed largely calm and without any of the problems that many had feared.

Berisha has been the country's dominant political figure since the fall of Communism in 1991. The 65-year-old campaigned with promises of quick EU accession and improving the infrastructure and living conditions. Edi Rama, who appeared to be more popular among Albania's younger voters, promised to get rid of what he described as Berisha's nepotist structures in the administration, pledging to do more for Albania's poor.

This year's vote was seen as crucial for what is one of Europe's poorest countries. Ahead of the elections, the EU had repeatedly said they would show whether Tirana was ready for closer EU ties. Votes were still being counted on Monday afternoon, with the process moving slowly.


Sources: B92; BalkanInsight; SETimes; EUObserver