The Albanian parliament on Friday, elected Ilir Meta as the country’s new President with 87 votes in favour and two against.

Meta was parliament speaker and head of Socialist Movement for Integration. His term of presidency will last till 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was the fourth round of voting for a new President. The first three rounds failed as no candidate was presented by the ruling majority.

The majority representatives said in first three sessions that they were waiting for the opposition to join the process.

Albania’s new President was proposed by the Socialist Movement for Integration and was unanimously supported by ruling Socialist Party.

His candidacy was made public on Thursday evening by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama who described Meta as the ideal President for Albania at this moment.

On the other hand, the opposition continued its boycott, thus refusing to be involved into the President election process. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Albanian parliament elected its current speaker Ilir Meta of the Socialist Movement for Intergration (LSI) was elected the new President of Albania in the fourth round of elections.

Meta, who was nominated as a candidate in the third round, was elected by 87 votes in favor and two against in the 140-seat parliament, according to the Balkan Insight website.

According to other local media, Meta called on all parties to show more responsibility amid the political crisis in the country, urging them to do everything possible for all political parties to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 18.

The opposition refused to take part in the presidential election, as it has been boycotting all parliamentary proceeding since February, claiming that the upcoming parliamentary election will be rigged and refusing to register for it. Instead it demands that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama steps down and allows creation of a caretaker government to ensure free and fair parliamentary election. </s> Exit polls indicate Albania's ruling Socialists have likely secured a parliamentary majority in elections seen as key to the country’s future relationship with the European Union.

Citing exit polls, broadcaster Ora News on June 25 projected that Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialists will win 45-49 percent of the vote, good enough for 71-75 seats in the 140-seat chamber.

The center-right Democrats of Lulzim Basha, an ardent admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, are forecast to have won 30 percent of the vote.

An exit poll by Italy's IPR Marketing provided similar results.

Official results are expected on June 26.

If the projections hold, it will allow the 52-year-old, pro-Europe Rama to set the political agenda without the need for a coalition. His party was favored going into the vote, but experts were unsure if it would attain a majority.

A clear victory would allow Rama to rule without his current junior coalition partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI), which received about 19 percent of the vote.

Rama has become increasingly at odds with the LSI and its former leader, former Prime Minister Ilir Meta, who is now president-elect after being voted to the mostly ceremonial position by parliament.

Although the elections apparently went off smoothly, voter turnout was 44.9 percent, a record low for a general election in Albania.

In 2013, turnout was 52.7 percent, with some 1,750,000 people voting. Preliminary calculations indicate 1,514,851 out of a possible 3,452,260 voters turned out for the current election.

Because of the low turnout -- which some people blamed on the record-high temperatures and celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan -- the election commission extended voting by an hour past the scheduled closing time.

The Socialists and Democrats were the leading parties looking to gain an outright majority in the parliament of the NATO-member, Muslim-majority country of 2.9 million people.

The Democrats had threatened to boycott the elections, demanding that Rama resign ahead of the vote to ensure a fair process.

The United States and the EU brokered a deal in May that overhauled election rules and allowed the opposition greater oversight over the process.

Rama is seeking his second term as prime minister. He described the vote, held in front of international observers, as a pivotal moment for the country and its hopes to join the EU.

Rama, who has voiced concerns about Russian influence in the country, has said he would like to complete EU ascension talks by the end of this year.

His rival, Basha, has also said he favors EU membership, calling it the "divine mission of the Democratic Party."

The country gained EU-candidate status in 2014, but movement has been slowed by a perceived lack of reforms, including those involved with the election process, and long-standing corruption.

While in power, the Socialists have improved tax collection and ruled under an improvement in economic growth -- 3.45 percent last year from less than 1 percent four years ago.

However, they were unable to fulfill promises to create 300,000 new jobs and provide free health care for everyone over 40 years of age.

The country has come under scrutiny for its massive levels of marijuana production, and it is a major transit route into Europe for cocaine and heroin.

Basha, 43, a former transport and interior minister, accuses Rama of ignoring Albania's problems and glossing them over with "facades and palm trees."

Both Rama and Basha previously served as mayors of the capital, Tirana.

With reporting by dpa, AP, Reuters, and Balkan Insight </s> Albania's parliament elected its leader as the country's new president Friday, abandoning efforts to build consensus with boycotting opposition lawmakers after two weeks of delays.

Speaker Ilir Meta was chosen after lawmakers in the 140-seat body who were present for the closed-door election voted 87-2 in favor of him. Meta's nomination was formally supported by the main left-wing governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Eighty-nine lawmakers were present for the vote, and Meta needed at least 71 votes to be elected. A handover ceremony from President Bujar Nishani is expected on July 24.

Meta is leader of the junior governing party, the Socialist Movement for Integration, or LSI, a post which he now must relinquish. He was the only candidate proposed by 23 lawmakers. Candidates must be nominated by at least 20 legislators.

Albania's president occupies a largely ceremonial role and is limited to two five-year terms.

"I will do my utmost, with all of my capacities, to justify the trust you gave ... to (serve) all the Albanian citizens, the constitution of the Republic of Albania, the most important interest linked to the national stability, security and our country's European future," he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana was the first to congratulate Meta, saying Washington was looking "forward to working with Albania's leaders to address the country's challenges and create opportunities for the Albanian people."

Following a request from the parliament administration, vetting authorities declared Meta "clean," meaning he has neither a criminal record nor any links to former communist regime institutions. He's been the parliamentary speaker since 2013 and previously served as prime minister.

Meta acknowledged becoming president had been "unimaginable." As a student in the late 1980s, he only dreamed of becoming a faculty professor, nothing more.

Meta, an economist, started his political life in 1990 as part of a student protest that toppled the country's communist regime. At age 48, he is among the longest-serving politicians in post-communist Albania.

He became the country's youngest-ever prime minister at 30 and also has served as foreign, integration and economy, trade and energy minister.

Meta founded the LSI party in 2004. In a few years, he turned it into a kingmaker in the volatile country's politics.

Though a left-wing grouping, the LSI joined the center-right coalition that ruled Albania in 2009-2013. It has been in a governing alliance with the Socialists since 2013.

Friday's vote followed three failed rounds in which the governing coalition didn't put up a candidate, saying it wanted to include the center-right opposition in reaching a broader consensus.

The opposition has boycotted parliament since February, demanding Rama's resignation before a June 18 parliamentary election and claiming that the sitting Cabinet will manipulate the vote.

European parliamentarians also failed to convince the opposition to change its stance.

Meta appealed to all political parties to do "their utmost for the country's stability (and) legitimacy of the institutions."

Meta is married to Monika Kryemadhi, also a LSI lawmaker, and has two daughters and a son. </s> Preliminary results show that Albania's ruling Socialist Party appears headed for a new governing mandate in an election seen as key to the country's future relationship with the European Union.

With 40 percent of the votes counted, the party of Prime Minister Edi Rama won almost 52 of the vote, the Central Election Commission said on June 26.

It would secure the Socialists 76 seats in the 140-seat chamber -- 11 more than in the previous elections in 2013.

According to the partial count, the opposition center-right Democratic Party of Lulzim Basha won 29 percent of the vote, or 40 seats -- a loss of nine seats compared to 2013.

Rama's current junior coalition partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI), received almost 16 percent of the vote -- some 4.5 percentage points more than in the previous poll.

Official results are expected later on June 26.

If the partial results hold, it would allow the 52-year-old pro-Europe Rama to set the political agenda without the need for a coalition.

Rama has become increasingly at odds with the LSI and its former leader, former Prime Minister Ilir Meta, who is now president-elect after being voted to the mostly ceremonial position by parliament.

Although the elections apparently went off smoothly, voter turnout was 44.9 percent, a record low for a general election in Albania. In 2013, turnout was 52.7 percent.

Because of the low turnout -- which some people blamed on the record-high temperatures and celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan -- the election commission extended voting by an hour past the scheduled closing time.

The Socialists and Democrats were the leading parties looking to gain an outright majority in the parliament of the NATO-member, Muslim-majority country of 2.9 million people.

The Democrats had threatened to boycott the elections, demanding that Rama resign ahead of the vote to ensure a fair process.

The United States and the EU brokered a deal in May that overhauled election rules and allowed the opposition greater oversight over the process.

Rama is seeking his second term as prime minister. He described the vote, held in front of international observers, as a pivotal moment for the country and its hopes to join the EU.

Rama, who has voiced concerns about Russian influence in the country, has said he would like to complete EU accession talks by the end of this year.

His rival, Basha, has also said he favors EU membership, calling it the "divine mission of the Democratic Party."

The country gained EU-candidate status in 2014, but movement has been slowed by a perceived lack of reforms, including those involved with the election process, and longstanding corruption.

While in power, the Socialists have improved tax collection and ruled over an improvement in economic growth -- 3.45 percent last year from less than 1 percent four years ago.

However, they were unable to fulfill promises to create 300,000 new jobs and provide free health care for everyone over 40 years of age.

The country has come under scrutiny for its massive levels of marijuana production, and it is a major transit route into Europe for cocaine and heroin.

Basha, 43, a former transport and interior minister, accuses Rama of ignoring Albania's problems and glossing them over with "facades and palm trees."

Both Rama and Basha previously served as mayors of the capital of Tirana.

With reporting by VOA, dpa, AP, Reuters, and Balkan Insight </s> The ruling Socialist Party has emerged as the likely winner of Albania’s latest parliamentary election. Although the party may have attracted the most votes, it’s unclear whether it will have a majority.

Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists garnered between 45 and 49 percent of the vote, according to early exit polls. The opposition Democratic Party, meanwhile, appeared to have secured between 30 and 34 percent. </s> TIRANA, Albania — Preliminary results show that Albania's left-wing Socialist Party appeared headed for a new governing mandate in crucial elections in the country's bid to launch membership negotiations with the European Union.

The Central Election Commission's preliminary results after counting one-third of the votes Monday morning show the Socialist party of Prime Minister Edi Rama winning almost half the votes compared to 28 of the opposition Democratic party of Lulzim Basha.

Election authorities said the partial count pointed to the Socialists winning at least 75 seats in the 140-member parliament.

Turnout fell to 47 , or 6 points lower than in previous polls in 2013.

Holding a free and fair election is key to launching EU membership talks for the nation of 2.9 million, which is already a NATO member and that earned EU candidate status in 2014.

Rama wrote on Monday in his Facebook page wishing Albanians "a beautiful day with this still-unfinished masterpiece of this country's common people," referring to the expected significant difference in winning results.

Basha spoke to reporters late Sunday evening thanking Albanians for voting "with a European dignity" in a religious day and under extreme hot temperature.

The voting was extended by one hour due to low turnout that was attributed to religious festivities and temperatures that reached 39 degrees (102 Fahrenheit.)

Albania with a two-third Muslim majority celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

International observers are expected to hold a news conference with a preliminary statement in the afternoon. </s> Albanians were voting Sunday in a general election that follows a landmark agreement between the country's two biggest political parties to look past their bitter differences and back efforts for Albania to eventually join the European Union.

Holding a free and fair election is key to launching EU membership talks for the nation of 2.9 million, which is already a NATO member. After earning EU candidate status in 2014, Tirana has struggled to pass important reforms vital for its bid to advance to EU — namely deeply reforming its corrupted justice system.

Eighteen political parties are running for 140 seats in parliament in Sunday's vote. The main contenders are Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialist Party and the opposition Democratic Party led by Lulzim Basha.

An agreement reached in May ended the three-month parliamentary boycott by the Democrats, who claimed that voting was open to manipulation. The election date was delayed a week and Rama's Socialists promised greater oversight on election transparency.

All main parties campaigned on a reform agenda, pledging faster economic growth, pay hikes and lower unemployment, which stands at about 14 percent.

Some 6,000 police officers were on duty for election security, while more 300 international observers came to monitor the vote.

"We expect a better Albania and leaders to work to do what they have pledged at the campaign," Zenel Caka, 47, said at a polling station in Tirana.

Luan Rama of the Socialist Party for Motivation, the third main political party, said one member was injured following a quarrel and a shooting incident outside a polling station in Shengjin, 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of the capital, Tirana.

Police investigating the incident said they found a cartridge but no injured person was taken to the hospital. They said it did not disrupt the voting.

The Interior Ministry also reported hundreds of attempts to buy votes, a crime that may result in a jail term.

Central Election Commission said partial turnout at a quarter of polling stations by 10 a.m. was 12.6 percent, almost the same as in the previous election.

Albanians also celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. In the early morning, thousands of Muslim believers said prayers at the recently-renovated Skanderbeg Square in Tirana.

All top leaders cast their ballots, congratulating Muslims on the holiday and urging citizens to vote.

"Today, Albania needs God more than ever," Rama said.

The western city of Kavaja was also holding a mayoral election.

Preliminary results from the vote are expected Monday. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Albania's Socialist Party is set to win a majority in parliament following Sunday's election, a partial vote count showed, empowering them to push economic and judicial reforms vital for membership of the European Union.

TIRANA: Albania's Socialist Party is set to win a majority in parliament following Sunday's election, a partial vote count showed, empowering them to push economic and judicial reforms vital for membership of the European Union.

The Socialists of Prime Minister Edi Rama campaigned to get a mandate that would help them ditch smaller parties and govern alone.

The number of Socialist lawmakers in the 140-seat parliament could rise to 76 compared to 66 in 2013, when little less than half the votes were counted by 1 p.m. on Monday.

"According to all data, we shall be in the driving seat," Rama told his candidates for parliament in a message soon after polls closed on what was the hottest day of the year so far in Albania. On Monday morning, he called the vote "an unfinished masterpiece".

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha issued no immediate comment after his party was seen gathering 28 percent of the vote, or 40 seats in parliament.

Voter turnout at 44.9 percent was one the lowest rates since Albania ditched communism in the early 1990s, probably due to the heat and the end-of-Ramadan celebration observed by Muslims who account for 60 percent of the population.

Prime Minister Rama and opposition leader Basha had postponed the election by a week after they reached a deal to end a 90-day opposition protest in exchange for letting the opposition into government to prevent election fraud.

Some 400 international observers closely watched Sunday's vote, keen to see Albania will bury its image of violent and contested elections. Despite minor incidents, voting appeared generally peaceful and the count progressed slowly but calmly.

The Interior Ministry, however, said hundreds of cases of vote buying and intimidation of voters had been reported. The Socialists and the smaller Socialist Integration Movement (SIM) kingmaker party accused each other of buying votes, intimidating opponents and causing scuffles among their supporters.

International observers were due to hold a press conference later on Monday to give their assessment on whether elections had been free and fair.

Implementing sweeping judicial reform aimed at rooting out widespread graft will be a priority for the next government as it seeks progress towards joining the European Union.

Rama said last month Albania could get a green light for formal EU talks to start at the end of this year.

"The election campaign was really peaceful and civilized from both sides; they both made only peaceful statements. With peace everybody is a winner," Daut Lumeni, a pensioner, told Reuters Television.
Ilir Meta is elected the new President of Albania, winning 87 votes out of 140 members of the Assembly.