Tue May 13 14:57:23 UTC 2025: ## Albania’s Ruling Socialists Secure Unprecedented Fourth Term Amidst Opposition Claims of Vote Manipulation
**Tirana, Albania -** Albania’s Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, has claimed victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, securing a historic fourth term in office. With a near-complete vote count showing the Socialists winning 52% of the vote and 82 of the 140 parliamentary seats, Rama appears poised to continue leading the Balkan nation.
The opposition center-right Democratic Party, led by Sali Berisha, secured 51 seats with 34% of the vote. Several smaller parties will fill the remaining seats. While the official results are expected to be finalized later today, the preliminary figures represent an increase in support for the Socialists since the last election in 2021.
The victory, however, is shadowed by controversy. The opposition Democratic Party has requested that approximately 53,000 ballots mailed from the diaspora in neighboring Greece be excluded, alleging manipulation by Socialist supporters. These diaspora votes, cast for the first time via postal service, could potentially shift the allocation of seats in several regions. While the postal company maintains that they have confirmed signatures for all voters in Greece, the opposition’s claims are raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
Rama campaigned on a platform centered on achieving European Union membership by 2030, a goal contested by Berisha, who argued that Albania is not yet ready for integration into the bloc.
Despite the strong showing, some analysts were surprised by the Socialist Party’s success, given a series of recent corruption scandals and unrest related to crackdowns on the opposition.
A joint international observation mission noted that while the election was professionally managed and competitive, it was also marred by the ruling party’s misuse of public resources, a confrontational and polarizing political atmosphere, divisive language used by both main parties, non-transparent financing, and unbalanced media coverage.
The Central Election Commission is expected to release the final results within 48 hours of the vote’s conclusion, but the ongoing dispute over diaspora ballots could lead to delays. The outcome of this election will shape Albania’s political landscape for the next four years and determine the course of its relationship with the European Union.
First Piper 