Elections in Albania

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Albania
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Regular elections in Albania are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament. The Parliament (Kuvendi) has 140 members elected for four-year terms.^[1] The electoral system is open list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's 12 administrative regions. Within any constituency, parties must meet a threshold of 3 percent of votes, and pre-election coalitions must meet a threshold of 5 percent of votes.^[2][3][4]

This electoral system replaced a mixed-member system in November 2008.^[5] Under the old system, 100 members were elected directly in single member constituencies with approximately equal numbers of voters. 40 were elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their ranking. The total number of deputies of a party or a party coalition was to be, to the closest possible extent, proportional to the valid votes won by that party or coalition on the national scale in the first round of elections. Parties that received less than 2.5% and coalitions that received less than 4% of the valid votes on the national scale in the first round of elections did not benefit from the respective multi-name list.

The change was criticised by the smaller parties, but supported by the two main parties. It was considered an important step towards Albania's European integration. Other changes included limiting the prosecutor general's term to five years, forcing an early election in case of a no-confidence vote and reducing the majority required to elect the president from three-fifths to half the MPs.^[6]

The president is elected by parliament.

Albania has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and several other parties that are electorally successful.

On 31 March 1991, the first pluralist elections were held in the country.^[7] The elections were conducted with a clean majority system in 250 constituencies.^[8] 98.2% of voters took part in the voting. The participating parties registered a total of 1,074 candidates while 17 of the candidates were independent. The final election results declared the Labor Party the winner with 56.17% of the vote. The Democratic Party won 38.71% of the vote, the Republican Party 1.77%, the Omonia Organization 0.73%, the Agrarian Party 0.07% and the Veterans Committee 0.28%. With a 250-seat parliament, the results were translated into 169 deputies for the Labor Party, the Democratic Party 75 deputies, Omonia 5 deputies and the Veterans Committee 1 deputy. The Democratic Party achieved high results and received a larger number of deputies compared to the Labor Party in the main cities such as: Durrës (13 deputies out of 19 in total), Shkodër (16 out of 19 in total), Tirana (19 out of 29). Whereas in Krujë and Vlorë the number of deputies of the two major parties was equal.^[8] This was considered a great victory for the DP given that the communist party that had ruled the country for about 50 years still continued to have strong control over the population, especially in those living in rural areas and still doubting that the dictatorship would fall.^[9]

On 8 May 2000, the Albanian Parliament approved the Electoral Code only with the votes of the Socialists, which had an overwhelming majority in the assembly that emerged from the 1997 elections.^[10] The Democratic Party rejected the Electoral Code in its entirety due to the composition of the Central Election Commission (KQZ or CEC) of 6 members. They boycotted his approval in parliament even though he had attended most of the roundtables organized for the debate over the Electoral Code. According to the new Electoral Code, voting in Albania would be based on a mixed, majority-proportional electoral system. From where 100 deputies, in the 140-seat parliament, would be elected by majority vote from single-member constituencies, while 40 seats were filled by national multi-member lists of political parties in order to achieve a proportional approach between nationally received votes and deputies which represented a political party in the assembly. To win a proportional mandate, political parties had to cross the 2.5% electoral threshold, while coalitions had to cross the 4% threshold.^[11]

The election of the president of Albania is regulated by the constitution of Albania, particularly outlined in the fourth part, comprising articles 86 to 94.^[12] To be eligible for candidacy, individuals must fulfill several criteria as delineated in the constitution: they must be Albanian citizens by birth, have resided in Albania for no less than the past 10 years, be at least 40 years of age, and possess the right to vote.^[13] The constitution mandates that the president shall not occupy any other public office, be affiliated with any political party, or engage in private business activities.^[14] The electoral process commences with the parliament of Albania, which is responsible for scheduling elections at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the incumbent term of the president.^[15] Candidates are nominated through a formal process in which a group of at least 20 members of the total 140 members of the parliament may propose an individual for the presidency.^[15]

The election is conducted by the parliament through a secret ballot without debate, requiring a candidate to secure a majority of three-fifths of all members of the parliament.^[15] If this majority is not achieved in the first ballot, a second ballot is held within seven days, followed by a third ballot if necessary. If no candidate receives the required majority after the third ballot, a fourth ballot occurs within seven days, limited to the two candidates with the highest votes from the previous round.^[15] If neither candidate secures the necessary majority in the fourth ballot, a fifth ballot is conducted. If, after the fifth ballot, neither candidate achieves the required majority, the parliament is dissolved, necessitating subsequent parliamentary elections within 60 days.^[15] The successive elected parliament is then responsible for electing the president according to the procedures regulated in the constitution. Further, if the parliament fails to elect a president, it correspondingly will be dissolved, requiring another round of general elections within the same period.^[15]

The president begins their duties after taking an oath before the parliament, affirming their commitment to uphold the constitution and laws of Albania, respect the rights and freedoms of citizens, protect the independence of the nation, and serve the general interest and progress of the Albanians.^[16] The term of office for the president is defined at five years, with the possibility of re-election for a maximum of two consecutive terms.^[16] In the event that a president resigns before the end of their term, they are prohibited from being a candidate in the subsequent presidential election.^[16] When the president is temporarily unable to exercise their functions or if the office becomes vacant, the speaker of the parliament of Albania assumes the responsibilities of the president.^[17] If the president is unable to fulfill their duties for more than 60 days, the parliament must decide, by a two-thirds majority, whether to refer the issue to the constitutional court.^[17] The court determines the incapacity of the president, and if incapacity is confirmed, the election of a successive president must commence within 10 days of such determination.^[17]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Socialist Party	768,134	48.67	74	0
	Democratic Party – Alliance for Change	622,187	39.43	59	New
	Socialist Movement for Integration	107,538	6.81	4	–15
	Social Democratic Party	35,475	2.25	3	+2
	Nisma Thurje	10,217	0.65	0	New
	Democratic Conviction	8,239	0.52	0	New
	Movement for Change	7,054	0.45	0	New
	Albanian Democratic Movement Party	4,705	0.30	0	New
	New Movement Party	3,767	0.24	0	New
	New Democracy Alliance Party	3,232	0.20	0	New
	Albanian National Front Party	1,946	0.12	0	New
	National Hour Alliance – Emigration – People's Union and Conservatives	1,376	0.09	0	New
	Independents	4,247	0.27	0	–
Total		1,578,117	100.00	140	–
Valid votes		1,578,117	95.00
Invalid/blank votes		83,059	5.00
Total votes		1,661,176	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,588,869	46.29
Source: KQZ[20] and OSCE[21]

This is a list of parliamentary elections in Albania from the year 1921 till present day. Direct presidential elections have not been held.^[22][23]

The candidates column lists only the number of candidates for mayor of the municipality. It does not include candidates for member of the municipal council.^[24]

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system