TIRANA, Albania (AP) 鈥� Preliminary results in Albania鈥檚 parliamentary election on Tuesday to the ruling Socialist Party which attracted voters supporting the country鈥檚 uphill effort to join the and Prime Minister Edi Rama鈥檚 bid for a fourth term.
With about 97% of the votes counted, Rama鈥檚 left-wing Socialists got 52.09% of the votes, or 82 seats in the 140-seat Assembly, or Parliament, followed by the opposition center-right Democratic Party-led coalition of Sali Berisha with 34.43%, or 52 seats. Three other small parties will take the rest.
With that number the left-wing Socialists may govern alone.
Preliminary turnout Sunday was 42% of the 3.7 million eligible voters, or 4% lower than four years ago.
Berisha鈥檚 Democrats claim irregularities during the vote and also with ballots mailed from the diaspora, accusing the ruling Socialists of involving criminal gangs to favor their candidates, buying ballots and using other enticing methods.
鈥淣o way to reconcile with such elections. No, forget it,鈥� said Berisha, suggesting that Democrats will not recognize the results.
The Central Election Commission, the electoral executive, has said that by law the final results come out 48 hours after voting ends. The results may be delayed following a request of the opposition not to consider ballots mailed from the diaspora in neighboring Greece, some 53,000, claiming they are manipulated.
For the first time, those in the diaspora could cast postal votes. About 195,000 mailed in their votes.
Eligible voters in Albania and abroad voted to elect 140 lawmakers for a four-year mandate in the Balkan nation. Because of mass emigration, the country of 2.4 million people has a total of nearly 3.7 million eligible voters.
Diaspora votes from Greece may move number of seats in three or four areas in favor of the left-wing Socialists. The opposition claims they were manipulated by Socialist supporters. The postal company said it has confirmation signatures of all the voters in Greece.
It is expected that Rama will hold a speech to his supporters, likely on Wednesday.
Rama鈥檚 Socialist Party says it can in five years which is an ambitious pledge, while battling the Democrats, who argue that Albania isn鈥檛 ready for the bloc鈥檚 membership.
On Friday, the opposition will hold a protest against the alleged election manipulation. The protest will coincide with a European Political Community summit being held in .
鈥淭he friends who will come should listen to the people's voice asking for a free vote and also that a tyrant, a narco-dictator is not allowing them but using all violent tools to grab the vote,鈥� said Berisha.
A joint international observation mission noted that despite being competitive and professionally managed, the election process so far was marked by the ruling party鈥檚 misuse of public resources, a confrontational and polarizing tone, the two main political parties using divisive language, untransparent financing, and unbalanced media coverage of smaller parties.
Llazar Semini, The Associated Press
