German media outlet Deutsche Welle has dedicated a report to Albania\u2019s May 11 elections, noting that with the majority of votes counted, Prime Minister Edi Rama is firmly on track for a fourth term in office.<\/p>\n
Full Article Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n Albania\u2019s Socialists, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, appear to have secured a clear victory.<\/p>\n While Rama has pledged European Union membership within five years, the opposition has questioned whether the country is truly ready for such a step.<\/p>\n Preliminary results announced on Tuesday show a decisive win for the Socialist Party of Albania, placing Rama on course for a fourth consecutive term.<\/p>\n The current government received support from voters who back the country\u2019s EU integration efforts and endorse Rama\u2019s bid to continue leading the country.<\/p>\n How are the results shaping up?<\/p>\n With around 96% of votes counted, Rama\u2019s Socialists have secured 52.09% of the vote, translating to 82 out of 140 seats in Parliament.<\/p>\n The coalition led by Sali Berisha\u2019s Democratic Party has obtained 34.44%, or 52 seats. Three smaller parties are projected to take the remaining seats.<\/p>\n The Central Election Commission has stated that final results will be announced within 48 hours of the close of voting.<\/p>\n Rama\u2019s party has pledged to achieve EU membership within five years \u2014 a goal that Berisha and other conservatives argue Albania is not yet ready to meet.<\/p>\n What do the results mean for Parliament?<\/p>\n With the current numbers, Albania\u2019s left-wing Socialists would be able to govern alone. Preliminary voter turnout on Sunday stood at 42.21%, about 4% lower than the previous elections.<\/p>\n The Central Election Commission emphasized that, by law, the final results must be announced within 48 hours of the vote.<\/p>\n However, the timeline could be delayed after the opposition demanded that around 53,000 diaspora votes from Greece not be counted, alleging they were manipulated.<\/p>\n This was the first election in which diaspora voters could participate via postal ballots.<\/p>\n Roughly 195,000 people submitted votes by mail.<\/p>\n Eligible voters both inside and outside Albania were electing 140 members of Parliament for a four-year term.<\/p>\n Due to massive emigration, Albania\u2019s population stands at 2.4 million, yet there are approximately 3.7 million registered voters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" German media outlet Deutsche Welle has dedicated a report to Albania\u2019s May 11 elections, noting that with the majority of votes counted, Prime Minister Edi Rama is firmly on track for a fourth term in office. Full Article Summary: Albania\u2019s Socialists, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, appear to have secured a clear victory. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":78584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n