Edi Rama in 2023 (source: Flickr)
Last Sunday 11th of May, parliamentary elections took place in Albania. With the country’s aspirations to join the EU soon and the new rule that allows the Albanian diaspora to vote, the election period was quite interesting. With the results published, Edi Rama and his Socialist Party have won the election for the fourth time in a row.
Results
Without the exit poll on Sunday, everyone had to wait until Tuesday for the final results. No media outlet in Albania received the exit poll and it remains unclear why it was not given out. However, now that most of the votes are counted and the first results have come in, it is clear to say that the Socialist Party of Edi Rama have once again won the election with a total of 82 seats. The expected runner up, the Democratic Party of Albania, has received 34% of the votes and the Social Democratic Party received 3.7% of the votes, which makes it the third largest party of the country.
The new diaspora votes resulted in a win for the Democratic party closely followed by the Socialist Party. Unfortunately, smaller parties were unable to gain ground and together receive less than ten seats in Parlement.
The opposition
The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, immediately told media that they did not accept the election results and announced a protest on the 16th of May, while the European Political Community event takes place. In the meantime, the OCSE has closely followed the elections with a joint observation mission, together with the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. They stated that the elections lacked a level playing field due to the dominance of the PS, and abuse of public resources took place, but that the elections were competitive and well managed.
What’s next
The main campaign promise of the Socialist Party is the fast accession to the European Union. Edi Rama’s goal is to finish the negotiations with the EU in 2027 and become an official member in 2030. This goal is very optimistic and many critics doubt that it is achievable. With 16 chapters opened of the 33, the country needs to work hard to be able to achieve that goal and overcome issues like corruption in the country. However, there is no lack of political will and dedication.
In the run up to the elections, EFDS spoke with Ilir Xhemalaj from the Centre of Labour Rigths and Romina Kuko, the Albanian Deputy Minister of Interior, about the elections and the possible outcomes. You can (re)watch the webinar here!
