The official results came in on Tuesday 13 May: the Albanian Socialist Party, which includes the current outgoing Prime Minister, Edi Rama, won the legislative elections held on Sunday 11 by a wide margin.
With 52% of the vote, it now has 82 of the 140 seats in Parliament, eight more than in the previous term. The vote was seen as a direct test of the country’s desire to join the Union - an ambition stated loud and clear by Edi Rama, who wants Tirana to become a member country as early as 2030 (see EUROPE 13617/4).
Despite the large number of foreign and Albanian observers on the ground, the EU, in a joint statement by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, regretted “the highly polarised environment in which the vote took place, in which the candidates did not benefit from equal conditions”.
“Because of the widespread use of administrative resources and the influence of institutions, it is possible that the majority in power has benefited from the advantage of seniority”, they said on Tuesday 13 May, citing “numerous allegations of pressure exerted on voters”.
Although Albania is the most advanced candidate country in the accession process (see EUROPE 13636/7), there is still a long way to go before Tirana joins the Union - starting with reforms on media independence and corruption, which the EU has been calling for (see EUROPE 13547/2). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)