Albania’s Socialist PM heading for second term

TIRANA: Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama was on his way to securing a second term in power Monday, offering him the chance to lead the Balkan country into European Union accession talks.

Preliminary results from over a third of polling stations showed the Socialists taking half the votes in Sunday’s legislative elections, with their main rivals in the centre- right Democratic Party taking 28 per cent.

The Socialist Movement for Integration ( LSI), traditionally the kingmaking party in Albanian politics, was set to win 15 per cent of the vote.

But 52-year- old Rama, an artist and former Tirana mayor who took power in 2013, seemed likely to secure an absolute majority in the 140- seat parliament, allowing the Socialists to rule alone.

Full results from the election, in which turnout was less than 50 per cent, yesterday. While politicians stayed cautiously quiet about the results, Albanian media were less reserved, with the Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper declaring ‘ victory for the Socialists’.

The rival Tema daily announced ‘a second term with an overwhelming majority’ for Rama in parliament. The premier himself did not proclaim his victory but struggled to hide his satisfaction on his Facebook account, where he posts regularly.

He wished Albanians a ‘good day’ over a map of the country filled in with the pink colour of the Socialist Party and the text ‘ 75+’, an allusion to the number of seats he expects to win. — AFP