Tirana Times
TIRANA, May 12 – The opposition Socialist Party claims victory in most of the town halls while the governing Democrats seem to have won most of the communes in the rural areas, a strange verdict from the people for these two political forces, who would have normally been winning votes the other way around.
Albania’s two biggest parties both claimed victory in mayoral elections seen as a test of the Balkan country’s readiness to apply for European Union candidate status.
“We have won the elections, clearly and unequivocally,” Socialist leader Edi Rama has repeatedly said during the last post-election days. “We have prepared for two years for this beautiful day. The list of victories is growing.”
The Democrats have mildly claimed victory, unlike other times, and have called for calm and left the vote counters free to finish their process.
It has become clear that all but a few cities in southern and central Albania have been won by the Socialists, including some in the north. As usual the Democrats have won most of the northern cities and most of the rural votes, though the voters are center-right conservatives.
The opposition Socialist Party has expressed doubt on whether votes would be fairly counted in the mayoral elections, which it said it had won.
The former communist country, now a NATO member, has never held elections deemed fully free and fair in the last two decades.
The Socialists have refused to accept the result of the 2009 election that gave Prime Minister Sali Berisha a second four-year term. They accuse his government of corruption.
The EU is concerned that the lingering dispute has impaired the country’s development.
