Polling stations have opened for the parliamentary elections in Albania, where 3.2 million voters will be able to vote to delegate 140 representatives to parliament through a proportional electoral system.
After the last elections in 2009, the country fell into a political crisis as the opposition socialists refused to acknowledge the election results. This significantly slowed Albania’s approach to the EU, and Brussels has already twice denied Tirana candidate status.
The main rivals on the political scene have been the same for 20 years – the right-wing coalition around current Prime Minister Sali Berisha (68) and the left-wing coalition around socialist leader and former mayor of Tirana Edi Rama (48). Both parties unconditionally advocate for EU membership and the recovery of the devastated Albanian economy.
According to the latest polls, which are generally not considered very reliable in Albania, the socialists have a 7% lead. About 3,000 observers will monitor the elections. Polling stations close at 7:00 PM, and the first results are expected to be announced on Monday.
Several other parties are participating in the elections. The nationalist Red and Black Alliance, founded last year on a platform of creating Greater Albania, has been surprisingly successful in polls until the party leader requested $100,000 for a spot on the electoral list. As reported by the American news portal Huffington Post, their membership subsequently dwindled.
Former Albanian President Bamir Topi founded the New Democratic Spirit party last year after parting ways with Berisha and could win several mandates. However, the key player, as reported by Huffington Post, could be Ilir Meta, a former socialist prime minister who split from the parent party in 2004. He founded the Socialist Movement for Integration and has a steady public support of five percent. Since 2009, he has been in coalition with Berisha.
