TIRANA, May 15 – When the final results have not yet been announced, the Socialist Party (SP) leads in 54 municipalities, while the opposition coalition “Together We Win ” has won in 6 districts in the local elections held on Sunday in Albania, according to information provided by the Central Elections Commission.
SP has taken the advantage in most of the country’s municipalities. The socialist camp leads in Tirana, Durrës, Lezhë, Shkodra, Tropoja, Kukës, etc. It’s to be noted that Socialists win the mayoral seat in Shkodra after 3 decades.
On the other hand, the opposition coalition “Together We Win” has won in 6 municipalities so far, specifically in Pukë, Memaliaj, Himarë, Has, Fushë-Arrëz and Mirdita.
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.
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.
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.
It is to be noted that Fredi Beleri, the candidate representing the Greek minority, emerged victorious over his opponent Jorgo Goro, who had the backing of the Edi Rama government, in the race for the mayor of Himara in Albania’s local elections.
The official results were announced Monday after an earlier interruption in the vote counting process.
Currently, Beleri is in custody as he was detained by Albanian police two days before the elections on charges of vote-buying. His arrest has strained the relationship between Tirana and Athens, with the latter perceiving it as a strategic move by the Rama government to gain an advantage in the internal pre-election dynamics. /argumentum.al
