Albania votes for 140 seats in parliament

On June 23, Albanians went to the polls to elect 140 seats in the country’s new parliament. This is an election of particular importance as the poorest country in Europe is facing the opportunity to join the European Union (EU) in the near future.

Polling stations opened at 05:00 GMT and closed at 17:00 GMT (12:00 - 24:00 in Vietnam) with the participation of about 600 international observers. In addition, 6,000 police have been mobilized to ensure the election will take place peacefully.

(Source: AFP)

An estimated 3.2 million voters at home and abroad are eligible to vote in the election, which is seen as a tight contest between the two major political forces in Albania: the conservative Democratic Party (DP) of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the opposition Socialist Party of former Tirana Mayor Edi Rama.

Shortly after polling stations opened, a shootout broke out in the town of Lac, north of Tirana, leaving one person dead and three injured. According to witnesses at the scene, the dead victim was a 53-year-old man, while one of the three injured was a candidate for the ruling Democratic Party.

Since the fall of Enver Hoxha's government in 1990, elections in Albania have been marred by violence and allegations of fraud. The 2009 election also plunged the southeastern European country into a political tailspin due to allegations of fraud.

Therefore, this year's election is seen as a test for Albania to prove that it can hold fair elections in accordance with international regulations, if it wants to score points in its efforts to join the EU.

Before the election, Belgium - which twice rejected Albania's application to join the EU - also said the election would be "a decisive test for Albania's democratic institutions and progress on the path to EU membership."

The first preliminary results are expected to be announced on June 24./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT