Albania Holds General Elections
(MENAFN) On Sunday, voters in Albania went to the polls for the country’s 11th general elections since the fall of the communist regime in 1991.
Voting began at 7 am local time (0500 GMT) and will run until 7 pm (1700 GMT). Over 3.71 million registered voters are eligible to participate in the election.
A total of 53 political parties and three pre-election coalitions are vying for the 140 seats in parliament.
The ruling Socialist Party, led by Premier Edi Rama, has been leading in the pre-election opinion polls.
The main opposition Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, is also considered a frontrunner.
The Democratic Party is running in alliance with 25 other parties under the Greater Albania Alliance.
Other political groups participating in the election include the Euro-Atlantic Coalition, Opportunity Party, Joint Movement Party, Albania Is Happening Initiative, Social Democratic Party, Homeland Movement, Albanian National Alliance, and the New Democracy Alliance.
The election is being closely observed by approximately 100 monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), covering 31 countries.
According to Albania's electoral laws, parties must surpass a 1 percent threshold to enter the parliament in parliamentary elections, which occur every four years.
The country is home to diverse ethnic communities, including Macedonians, Greeks, Montenegrins, Aromanians, Bosniaks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Egyptians, and Roma.
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