Socialists set for outright victory in Albanian general election

Socialists set for outright victory in Albanian general election
Prime Minister Edi Rama looks casual and relaxed as he casts his vote.
By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje June 26, 2017

Albania’s governing Socialist Party boosted its share of the vote in the June 25 general election, narrowly taking enough seats to form a majority without the need to seek coalition partners. Partial data from the central election commission puts the Socialists on around 48.8% of the vote, giving it 73 seats in the parliament - two more than the 71 needed for a majority. 

The expected result is good news for Albania’s prospects for progress on its EU accession path. While both the Socialists and the rival Democrats are committed to EU accession, progress on EU-required reform including wide-reaching judicial reforms has been strong during Prime Minister Edi Rama’s first term. An outright victory for the Socialists would therefore mean policy continuity and the opening of Albania’s first negotiation chapters before long. 

While the Socialists did better than expected, the centre right Democratic Party took only 29% of the vote, according to results based on votes from 4,030 of the total 5,362 polling stations counted. This would give the Democrats 44 parliamentary seats - six fewer than in the current parliament, broadcaster Top Channel reported.

The centre-right party had threatened to boycott the vote for several months ahead of the election, seeking the formation of a caretaker government. Following heavy pressure from the international community, the Democrats finally decided in May to take part in the election after the Socialists made a number of concessions, chiefly the formation of an interim government that included some of its nominees. 

However, the threatened boycott could have hurt the party’s chances in the election, by showing voters it was willing to put Albania’s EU path at risk for its own political ends.

Among the smaller parties, the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) gained 14.5% of the vote while the Party for Justice, Integration and Unity (PDIU) won 4.9%. Translated into mandates, this would give the two parties 18 and four seats respectively, while the Social Democratic Party of Albania (PSD) would have one MP in the new parliament. 

Eighteen political parties participated in the parliamentary election for 140 seats in the parliament. Albania has a proportional closed-list election model and is divided into 12 counties, of which the biggest is Tirana, which will generate the biggest number of MPs.

Holding a free and fair vote, together with the implementation of judicial reforms, will be crucial for the country to launch EU accession talks. Albania has been an EU candidate nation since 2014. 

Reforms and jobs 

Aside from EU accession, the focus in the campaign of the main political parties was on the reform agenda, faster economic growth, cutting the jobless rate and wage hikes.

Despite the importance of the vote, turnout was so low that the central election commission extended the voting process until 8pm local time.

Turnout was 46.4%, seven percentage points lower than in 2013.

This was to a large extent because of Albania’s large diaspora. Over 3.4mn people were eligible to vote, but around a third live abroad and could cast their votes only if they travelled to Albania to do so.

Rama, 52, sought a second mandate by promising that economic growth would accelerate to over 5% from the current 3.5%. He also vowed to cut public debt and create new jobs. His Socialist Party will aim to advance the judicial reforms and the fight against corruption further.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Lulzim Basha, 43, a former Tirana mayor, promised lower taxes and a stepping up of the fight against corruption. Basha fought a sometimes negative campaign, accusing Rama of failing to fight drug trafficking in the country, also claiming the prime minister had links with drug traffickers, an accusation Rama has denied. The Democrats also promised modernisation of the health system and a reduction in social inequality.

The Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) is the third major force in the political environment in Albania. The party is now led by Petrit Vasili after its previous leader Ilir Meta was elected Albania’s president in April. The LSI was the Socialists’ coalition partner in the previous government, but recently the party decided not to renew the coalition.

The election was held on the day Albanians celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. However, according to local media, despite this — and the presence of around 7,000 police officers on the streets — several violent incidents marred the first half of the election day. In Shengjin, Lezha county, an LSI activist was beaten up. At an Elbasan polling centre, there was a fight that ended up with a Socialist Party commissioner being hit. Reportedly he was trying to stop a group vote, which is illegal under the election code.

The June 25 elections were monitored by diplomats in Tirana. US ambassador Donald Lu and EU ambassador Romana Vlahutin joined the international monitors during the election process.

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