US, EU renew Albania poll plea

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press

Albania must hold free and fair elections next month if it hopes to form closer ties with the West, the European Union and United States said Friday, hours after a regional party leader was killed in a bomb explosion. Police have released few details about the bomb attack that killed 34-year-old regional leader Aleksander Keka, a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Party, as he was driving his car Thursday near Shkodra, a city 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Tirana.

It was the latest in a series of violent incidents that have marred campaigning for the June 28 vote in this former Communist country, where elections are often tarnished by violence and voting irregularities. The U.S. Embassy said the June 28 elections were a test of the country's commitment to democracy, while the Czech Embassy _ speaking on behalf of the EU _ said the vote would show whether Albania was ready to move closer toward integration with the bloc. The Czech Republic now holds the rotating EU presidency.

Albania joined NATO this year and has applied for EU candidate status. Some 500 observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other international organizations will be monitoring the elections, in which conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha faces a strong challenge from Socialist leader Edi Rama. Last week, a man was fatally shot following an argument over a campaign poster, and in May an opposition lawmaker was killed.

The opposition has claimed the government is seeking to manipulate the election process through its control over the distribution of new identity cards, which together with passports are the documents required to vote. The government denies the allegation.