Albania heads to the polls today in a pivotal parliamentary election that will test both the strength of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party and the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions, long battered by corruption scandals, voter apathy, and bruising political polarisation.
All 140 seats in the Albanian Parliament are up for grabs in what analysts are describing as the most consequential election since the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. Rama, the country’s towering and often controversial leader, is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office — a feat unmatched in Albania’s post-communist era. But mounting opposition, both from fractious domestic rivals and a wary European Union, threatens to blunt his ambitions.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time across the mountainous Balkan nation, with turnout expected to be closely watched by both Brussels and Washington. Albania, a NATO member and EU candidate country since 2014, has long been seen as a bellwether for democratic progress in the Western Balkans. But fatigue with entrenched elites and endemic graft has cast a long shadow over this election.
Rama’s Socialist Party (PS), which has held a majority since 2013, remains the frontrunner, buoyed by economic growth and extensive public works projects. Yet critics accuse the government of authoritarian tendencies and of using state resources to dominate the political landscape.
“The prime minister has built a modern autocracy,” said Arben Ristani, a former election commissioner and critic of the ruling party. “It is dressed up in democratic clothes, but underneath it’s all control — over the media, the judiciary, even the ballot box.”
Rama, a flamboyant former artist and basketball player, has brushed aside such accusations, styling himself as a moderniser who has transformed Albania into a “gateway to Europe.” Campaigning heavily on infrastructure projects and digitalisation, he has promised stability and continued alignment with the EU.
“We are not perfect,” he told supporters at a final rally in Tirana, “but we are the only choice for a serious future. Albania does not need experiments or chaos. Albania needs progress.”
Standing against him is a patchwork of opposition parties, hastily united under the banner of the Democratic Front, a coalition led by Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party and several smaller conservative and centrist factions. Berisha, himself a former prime minister and a lightning rod in Albanian politics, has returned to frontline politics after years of marginalisation, despite being declared persona non grata by the United States over corruption allegations.
Critics argue that the opposition offers little more than a return to past grievances and internecine feuding. But within opposition circles, there is growing belief that voters have had enough of Rama’s long rule.
“There is a hunger for change,” said Endrit Zeka, a political science lecturer at the University of Tirana. “The Socialist machine is powerful, but it is not invincible — especially if turnout is high in urban areas.”
The election takes place amid broader regional instability, with neighbouring Kosovo and Serbia locked in a renewed diplomatic standoff and concerns over Russian influence lingering in the region. Western diplomats have urged a clean and credible vote, with the OSCE deploying observers across the country.
In previous elections, Albania has been plagued by allegations of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and administrative bias — issues that have drawn sharp rebukes from the EU. A 2021 OSCE report noted “widespread misuse of state resources” by the ruling party, while expressing concern about media freedom and judicial independence.
Yet despite these structural concerns, many ordinary Albanians remain preoccupied with more immediate issues: inflation, youth unemployment, and the mass exodus of educated workers to Germany, Italy, and beyond.
“I don’t care who wins,” said Arlinda Gashi, a 29-year-old café owner in the port city of Durrës. “I just want my brother to come back from Frankfurt. Everyone is leaving. What good is an election if nobody wants to stay here?”
In the capital Tirana, the atmosphere was tense but orderly as voters lined up in unusually brisk morning winds. For many, the choice was less about ideology and more about trust.
“I don’t like Rama, but I don’t trust the others either,” said Fatos Muca, a retired engineer. “It’s always the same faces — always the same promises.”
Polls are scheduled to close at 7 p.m. local time, with initial results expected in the early hours of Monday. The final tally, however, may take several days, particularly if turnout is high or the vote proves close.
Whatever the outcome, Albania stands at a crossroads: continue along Rama’s tightly controlled road to Europe, or gamble on a fractured opposition offering an uncertain new direction.
Main Image: via Instagram.
