Thewesternbalkans.
Preliminary results in Albania’s parliamentary election on Monday showed the ruling Socialist Party ahead, with voters supporting the country’s uphill effort to join the European Union and Prime Minister Edi Rama’s bid for an unprecedented fourth term.
Commentary: Sunday’s election in Albania is widely seen as a decisive test of Albania’s democratic maturity and its path toward EU membership.
While Albania has made progress in terms of judicial reform, particularly as a result of SPAK’s investigations into high-level corruption, elections remain a weak point.
According to different media, both the ruling Socialist Party and the opposition Democratic Party have included candidates who are currently under investigation by Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structure (SPAK).
According to data from Qendresa Qytetare, a civic organization that monitors public integrity, 15 candidates from the SP and DP are under investigation, seven of them in safe seats. While these candidacies do not technically break the law, political analysts argue that they undermine the justice system. Some of the names on the lists are family members of known criminal figures or individuals who were previously removed from politics in accordance with the decriminalization law.
