Minor violence and sabotage claims marred the first few hours of voting today in Albania's first general election since the country plunged into anarchy in 1997.
An armed man shot two election officials after getting into a row with them at a polling station in the capital Tirana, the Public Order Ministry said. Neither was seriously hurt.
In the village of Lekbibaj, in the lawless north of the country, 124 miles from Tirana, armed men burst into a polling station and set fire to voting papers.
No other significant incidents were reported as voters trooped to 4,735 polling stations throughout this impoverished Balkan nation of 3.5 million people.
The election campaign had been peaceful, in contrast to the 1997 election when an Italian-led peacekeeping force had just restored order after months of anarchy started by the collapse of fraudulent pyramid investment schemes.
Socialist Prime Minister Mr Ilir Meta, widely expected to be re-elected with a reduced majority, pledged to work towards a new European Albania as he cast his vote in Tirana.
Asked if he was confident the vote would go smoothly, he replied: "Absolutely. Security is at a maximum and no one should think they can mess around with the elections."
Former President Mr Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, denounced the government as the most corrupt regime of all time and predicted that he would be returned to power.
Albanian politics remains deeply polarised and hundreds of thousands of weapons looted from army barracks in 1997 are still in private hands.
But the country has been peaceful since 1998 and the confrontation between the government and opposition has become much more low-key.
The Meta government has been praised by Washington and the European Union for its moderate stance on Macedonia and Kosovo, two neighbouring Balkan flashpoints over the past four years.
Meta is also claiming credit for steady economic growth - albeit from a low base - modest improvements in Albania's catastrophic infrastructure and better tax collection.
Albania's Central Election Commission said on Saturday it had rejected 109 pseudo-independent parliamentary candidates who in reality were standing for the two main parties, seeking to boost their representation in the 140-seat parliament.
Western ambassadors, who carry considerable weight in Albania because the country is heavily dependent on outside support, welcomed the move and urged the main parties to cooperate in ensuring a smooth election.
Some 250 Western observers were monitoring the election.
Voting began at 7 a.m. Irish time and is due to finish at 5 p.m. Irish time.First results were expected around 11 p.pm. our time.
The Socialists have 99 seats in the outgoing 155-seat parliament and the Democrats 29. The total number of seats is being reduced to 140 under a constitutional reform enacted in 1998.
(Additional reporting by Linda Spahia)