TIRANA, Albania (AT) — Albania's governing Democrats claimed victory over Sundays parliamentary elections, but the opposition Socialists accused Prime Minister Sali Berisha's party of attempting to snatch victory when the counting is still continuing.
Democratic Party spokeswomen Majlinda Bregu said to the media at the party’s headquarters that Democratic Party has secured 71 seats of the parliament’s 140 seats and could govern without forming a coalition. The opposition Socialist Party disputed and the election officials said it was too early to tell either way.
Near complete results showed right wing was leading by 1% but still 70 seats each with only 81 boxes remaining to be counted. ECA which is publishing real time results shows that both coalitions have so far secured 70 seats each but this could change at the last minute as the ballot counting continues with the last remaining boxes.
Senior Socialist party official Ditmir Bushati accused the Democrats of hatching a "black plan to grab our victory."
"The Democratic Party does not have 71 seats," Bushati said, adding that "these elections, unfortunately, have fulfilled no standard. The result has been significantly deformed."
With 98 percent of ballot boxes counted by 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) Wednesday, Berisha's Democratic Party had 46.76 percent, to the 45.43 percent of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama's Socialists.
The Central Election Commission's preliminary results showed the left wing SAI coalition coming third with 5.59 percent.
Bregu asked election authorities to "confirm the victory of the Democratic Party."
But election commission spokesman Leonard Olli declined to confirm the Democrat's claim they had secured 71 seats.
"We have not brought out the final results," he said.
Unofficial calculations show the Democrats to have won 70 of Parliament's 140 seats — one short of the 71 they need to govern without forming a coalition.
Ensuring a fair and peaceful ballot on Sunday was seen as a crucial test for Albania's ambitions to join the European Union, and international monitors say that despite some violations the voting was calm.
The Socialist Party has 66 seats, according to calculations by ECA-KRIIK, a group of non-governmental organizations conducting a parallel vote tabulation and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
The SAI, which has said it is willing to join a coalition with Socialists, is estimated to have won four seats.
The final official results are expected by the end of the week.
Vote counting was halted Wednesday due to objections from the two main parties over the process, and to allow exhausted election officials some rest.
81 of the 4,753 ballot boxes remain to be counted, and the process was expected to be completed by late Wednesday night.
Both main parties ran on a similar platform, pledging to lift Albania out of poverty and secure its EU accession.
The Balkan country was under intense international pressure to make sure the vote was fair and free of the reports of fraud that have marred the six previous polls since communism ended in 1990. Albania became a NATO member on April 1 and is seeking to join the 27-nation EU.
Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that while there were improvements and fewer irregularities, violations persisted.
An OSCE statement Monday said observers "noted procedural violations," including widespread family voting.
Based on the partial count, the election commission said 49 percent of Albania's 3.1 million registered voters, or 1.54 million people, had cast ballots on Sunday. That was about 150,000 more votes than in the 2005 elections. (Reporting from Tirana for Albanian Times / Laro Kurti)
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