TIRANA – Albanians finished voting yesterday in a parliamentary election that the government, opposition and international observers said was fair, and exit polls pointed to a tight race.
Prime minister Sali Berisha and his Democratic Party face a challenge from the main opposition Socialist Party led by Edi Rama, mayor of the capital Tirana, in a ballot seen by the West as a test of Albania’s readiness for integration with Europe.
An exit poll of 6,000 voters for the Ora News channel by the Italian firm IPR marketing found the ruling centre-right Democrats gaining 46-49 per cent of the national vote, with the Socialists bringing in 41-45 per cent.
A second exit poll by a Kosovo pollster put the Democrats in front by 50 to 43 per cent. But exit polls are new in Albania, and the pollsters themselves are unsure how reliable they are.
Ruled for four decades until 1985 by Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, the Balkan country has emerged from long isolation, becoming a Nato member in April and applying the same month to join the European Union.
“The elections proceeded better than any other election we ever had,” Mr Berisha, the dominant leader of the post-communist era, said. “There have been a few small problems, but no major ones.”
Mr Rama gave a cautious thumbs-up to the ballot. “Despite a series of irregularities and unpleasing details in various parts of the territory of Albania, in general the objective of guaranteeing the process was realised,” he said. “I agree with Mr Berisha that there are no losers in this elections because European Albania has won.”
However, he said he did not believe exit polls were reliable, because of intimidation during the campaign.
Europe’s main human rights and security watchdog, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said the vote was mostly orderly, although the main parties had accused each other of manipulation.
“So far it has been relatively calm,” Robert Bosch, the OSCE’s Albania head, said. “There are some little irregularities, but this time less than in past elections.”
Both candidates favour European integration, more market reforms, improved infrastructure and modernising Albania’s agriculture. Mr Rama has said he would turn to the IMF for economic help; Mr Berisha has publicly been more cautious on that issue.
A brief exchange of charges of manipulation between the two parties prompted the country’s president Bamir Topi to urge Albanians not succumb to pressure.
“People should vote freely so that we realise for the very first time . . . free, correct, transparent and uncontested elections,” Mr Topi said.
The Central Election Commission said the voting went well, but cited scattered problems including a lack of marker ink to make sure people did not vote twice, delays in starting the vote and disagreements over ID checking devices.
At one polling station in the mountain town of Kruja, famed as the 15th-century stronghold of resistance to Ottoman invasion, men were observed casting ballots for elderly women dressed in black. An official who was putting ink on voters’ thumbs to ensure they could not vote a second time said the practice was allowed, especially when the elderly had poor eyesight.
Outside the simple Kruja schoolhouse where locals lined up to get their ballots, Sajmir Laci (19), part of a generation born after communism, had voted for the first time.
“I like Berisha; he is not a thief,” he said. “He has done a lot for Albania. We have gone forward and we’ll go to the European Union.”
Official results are due later today. – (Reuters)