Albanian citizens headed to the polls on Sunday to vote for mayors and local councillors in 61 municipalities, with the first results suggesting the ruling socialist party, which has also held 60 out of 61 municipalities for the last four years, will win by a landslide victory. Read more.
The last local elections in 2019 were boycotted by the opposition over allegations of vote buying and voter intimidation. This resulted in the lowest voter turnout in Albanian democratic history and a resounding win for the Socialist Party, an associate of the Party of European Socialists. The party, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, has been in government for ten years and has held a majority at a local level for two mandates.
Polling booths opened at 7 am, closing 12 hours later. As for turnout, it was estimated at 1.1 million out of an eligible 3.65 million, equivalent to 30.9%. As for first-time voters, the turnout was even lower at just 13.5%, signifying a problem with engaging Albanian youth.
Shortly after the voting closed, Rama posted a picture of his prediction of the results; 50 municipalities to his party and 11 to the opposition parties.
With votes being counted through the night, only a handful of municipalities have announced full or partial results. At the time of writing, the Socialist Party led in all but eight municipalities with surprise victories and leads in previous opposition strongholds such as Tropoje, Kukes, and Dibra in the north.
In the capital of Tirana, socialist candidate and incumbent Mayor Erion Veliaj looks set to win a third term, leaving opposition candidates trailing significantly. The Socialist Party also leads in key areas such as Durres, Vlora, Korce, Gjirokaster, and Fier.
The Democratic Party, suffering from a deep division in its voter base and led by Enkelejd Alibeaj, appears to have experienced a significant defeat, registering single-digit performances in multiple municipalities, similar to smaller independent parties. The Together We Win coalition looks set to take a number of seats, posing the only real opposition to the ruling party.
Ghost of Albanian opposition party’s former leader appears before local elections
Albania’s Central Election Commission has announced that the former chairman of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha is the one who has the right to submit the request of the party to take part in the upcoming local elections as he …
No serious incidents
While no serious incidents were reported throughout the day, a few minor scuffles were reported, and a number of irregularities and technical issues were observed. For example, in multiple municipalities, there were confirmed and unconfirmed reports of unauthorised individuals at voting centres, reportedly present to pressure and influence voters.
Police were also called to other locations due to arguments between observers, commission officials and other electoral officials. In other voting centres, observers attended without the necessary ID documents or authorisations, leading to the intervention of the police.
Albanian local election campaign in last days amid vote-buying accusations
With just one day before Albanian political parties close their campaigns for crucial local elections, allegations of vote buying have surfaced, leading to sharp reactions from internationals in Tirana.
Albanians are set to go to the polls on Sunday to elect …
The State Commissioner of Elections, Ilirian Celibashi, asked the State Police to remove unauthorised persons staying on the premises of the Voting Centers, noting there were 14 such complaints throughout the day.
“The presence of unauthorised persons is intimidation and pressure on voters. The State Police should address this concern and take measures to empty the centres, remove people who have no reason to stay,” he said.
Celibashi added that the complaints about this issue have come from seven polling stations in Tirana and Durres from the “Together We Win” coalition, headed by former prime minister Sali Berisha and ex-president Ilir Meta.
The opposition also accused other parties of influencing voters. The spokeswoman of the opposition coalition in Tirana, Silvi Bardhi, denounced unauthorised people directing votes near the polling stations. “There is an unjustified presence of people here who are neither voters nor part of the process. They are simply in the role of pressuring and influencing the voters,” she said.
Other citizens were arrested for photographing ballots, a common practice whereby the pictures were shown to political representatives in return for money or favours. Family voting was also reported in multiple locations.
There were also complaints that political parties and candidates broke electoral silence rules by imploring citizens to vote or trying to influence them on the day.
In addition to these issues, several voting centres employing electronic voting technology were non-functional throughout the day. Celibashi said there were problems in 502 voting stations reported problems with electronic identification. Meanwhile, older adults struggled to use the technology and needed operator assistance.
Votes will continue to be counted throughout the day and a final result is expected in the coming days, although it is likely to be disputed.
Over 24,000 Albanian local election candidates, issues with financing, transparency
With under a month until Albania heads to the polls to elect mayors and regional councillors, a total of 132 political parties are present in the country, with more than 24,000 candidates in the running. R
The May 2023 municipal elections …
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Read more with EURACTIV
Finland to increase research funding to 4% of the GDP
Source: euractiv.com
