Albania rivals neck-to-neck in parliamentary vote

Mon Jun 29, 2009

By Benet Koleka

TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania's ruling center-right coalition had just one more seat than the opposition Socialist coalition after more than half of the parliamentary election ballots were counted on Monday.

International monitors said Sunday's election showed improvements over past polls but still saw marked violations and told Albania to stage future elections better. The European Union and the United States view the ballot as a test of Albania's readiness for integration with Europe. The EU's Swedish presidency will review Albania's application for candidate status in light of the monitors final poll report.

Results from 2,745 out of 4,753 voting centers showed the ruling Democratic Party coalition had 69 seats while the Socialist-led coalition had 68 seats. The Socialist Integration Movement coalition had three seats.Under the regional proportional election system being implemented for the first time, the Socialist Integration Movement coalition might become a kingmaker should the current trend be confirmed when all votes are counted.
Final official results are expected late on Tuesday.

The main opposition Socialist Party of Edi Rama, 44, and the ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, 64, traded accusations of intimidation at vote counting centers.
Releasing the findings of some 500 monitors, the International Election Observation Mission said the elections showed improvements over previous votes, but new NATO member Albania needed to do more to meet standards.

more see: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE55S6X120090629