As the first elections since Albania's accession to NATO, the June 28, 2009, parliamentary elections drew a great deal of attention from the international community. Past elections have been marred by violence and party boycotts. Tensions ran high for the parliamentary elections because public opinion polls suggested a tight race between the ruling center-right Democratic Party (DP) and the opposition center-left Socialist Party (SP). 

ELECTORAL PROCESS

National parliamentary elections were held on June 28, 2009. The atmosphere was remarkably calmer and more peaceful than past elections. However, widespread irregularities and a lengthy vote counting process in three major electoral regions may have hurt Albania's prospects of joining the European Union in the near future. For the first time since Albania's introduction of a democratic multi-party system in 1991, the winning party or coalition was forced to enter into coalition with an opposition party due to a lack of a parliamentary majority. 

ELECTION RESULTS 

After a lengthy counting process, with 59 mandates being contested in the regions of Tirana, Fier and Shkodra, the Central Election Committee (CEC) announced that it would be ready to issue the final results on August 1, 2009. According to the current results, the ruling DP-led coalition won 70 seats in the parliament, four more than the major opposition SP, but one short of an absolute majority. The Socialist Movement for Integration, led by former Prime Minister Ilir Meta, came in third, with four seats, while three other political parties, the Republican Party, the Party for Justice and Integration and the Human Rights Union Party, garnered one seat each.   

ELECTION OUTCOME 

The international community remained critical during the lengthy election process, judging that Albania again failed to administer elections that met international standards. The tight contest between the DP and SP raised the stakes and created an atmosphere of tension. Even after the CEC's announcement on July 27 that the ballot count was over and the results were confirmed, the leader of the opposition SP, Edi Rama, threatened to contest the overall elections results. Prime Minister and DP Chairman Sali Berisha called on Mr. Rama to "put aside" what Berisha described as "the bitterness of defeat." As a new NATO member and an aspirant to the European Union, Albania has felt intense pressure to clean-up its electoral code, improve voter lists, and most importantly, to hold free and fair elections. However, if the opposition chooses not to recognize the election results and boycott parliament, it may bode very poorly for Albania's future membership in international institutions. 

The reaction of the Albanian people to the election process and results has been lukewarm at best, with far less passionate reactions than the parties. Despite the close elections and contested results in some regions, there were no random or organized street protests or widespread violence after the election results were announced. 

IRI IN ALBANIA 

The International Republican Institute (IRI) has conducted democracy assistance programs in Albania since 1991, focusing on training for new parliamentarians and their staff, campaign training for newly-formed political parties, constitutional reform and several projects aimed at supporting the development of Albania's electoral system. Since 2006, IRI has focused its assistance on promoting the political participation of the disabled, working with Albanian non-governmental organizations (NGO) to develop a national platform for the disabled.

IRI also works with the Parliamentary Center, an Albanian NGO that encourages public understanding and debate on legislation, to strengthen its role as a parliamentary watchdog. By enabling the center to carry out parliamentary monitoring projects, such as tracking the voting history of each member and publishing a parliamentary guide, IRI works to make the parliament more open and accountable to the public.