President sets local elections for May 8, 2011

TIRANA, Sep. 6 – President Bamir Topi on Monday said Albania would hold the local elections on May 8, 2011.
More than 3 million people are eligible to take part in the ballot choosing thousands of officials who run their 384 town halls and communes for a four-year term.
Albania, a NATO member and an applicant for candidate status with the European Union, is trying to resolve last year’s parliamentary poll’s political deadlock on alleged vote count manipulation between the governing Democrats, controlling 75 of the parliament’s 140 seats, and the main opposition Socialist Party with 65 seats.
The Socialists have threatened to resume street protests demanding a partial vote recount. Democrats have refused the demand.
Since communism ended in Albania in 1990, its elections have consistently fallen short of international standards.
A day earlier Topi also made a public statement calling on both political sides to let aside their personal and immediate profit but think more constructively for the country and reach a compromise on their political deadlock.
Topi called on the governing Democrats to be open and give a final end to the dispute on last year’s parliamentary elections. He also appealed to the opposition Socialists to play their role in the parliament.
There have been threats from the Socialist leader Edi Rama and parliamentary group head Gramoz Ruci that they could turn to the streets if not pleased with the solution of the election manipulation.