(ANSA-AFP) - TIRANA, APR 26 - Albania's opposition claimed
victory after a parliamentary election on Sunday seen as crucial
to the country's dreams of EU membership, but the ruling party
said it was too soon to call a result. The electoral commission
said it could take two days to know the results of a vote marred
by weeks of sniping between the candidates in the run-up and a
deadly gunfight between rival supporters. Despite the fractious
campaign, international observers including ambassadors from
European countries and the United States reported that the
voting day itself passed off without major hitches. Socialist
Prime Minister Edi Rama was seeking a third term against a dozen
parties united behind the main opposition Democrats, led by his
long-time rival Lulzim Basha. Shortly after polling stations
closed, Basha thanked his voters and said victory for his
alliance was "clear". However, exit polls in local media
suggested contradictory results. Rama dismissed any claims at
this stage as "pre-match predictions", urging his supporters to
have faith in the vote count. Election commission chief Ilirjan
Celibashi had pleaded with politicians to wait calmly for the
count to be completed, praising the "integrity" of the voting
process so far. But many voters are jaded with a political
culture where each side routinely accuses the other of cheating
and corruption.
The country of 2.8 million people is among the poorest in Europe
and the coronavirus pandemic has made matters worse, with the
vital tourism sector suffering a huge slump. Rama, an artist and
former basketball player, banked on a mass vaccination campaign
to boost his popularity and has promised that 500,000 Albanians
will be inoculated by the end of May. He has also vowed to
increase tourism and repair damage from a 2019 quake that left
thousands without homes. Democrat leader Basha has promised to
speed up the push for EU membership and revive the economy with
help for small businesses. The two men traded barbs throughout
the campaign, with Basha accusing his rival of vote-rigging and
corruption and Rama belittling his opponent as a puppet of party
veterans and President Ilir Meta. In the run-up to the vote, the
president, an arch-enemy of Rama whose wife runs a smaller party
allied to the Democrats, said "pitchforks" would be ready on
Sunday in case the Socialists attempted to tamper with the
votes. US envoy Yuri Kim called the comments unacceptable,
writing on Twitter: "These threats deserve condemnation."
(ANSA-AFP).
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