Albania: Narrow victory for Berisha's Democratic Party
Overview:
Preliminary results from parliamentary elections suggest that Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party and its allies have won the most seats in parliament but have fallen just short of retaining a majority. The Democratic Party-led coalition seems to have secured 70 of the 140 seats in parliament compared to 66 for the opposition coalition centred on the Socialist Party of Edi Rama. The Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) has taken the remaining four seats. Results in some areas are contested and so final results may yet take some time. However, it seems highly likely that the LSI will play a key-role in government formation. Despite being a splinter from the Socialist Party, the LSI may prefer to join a Democratic Party-led coalition although its official stance on this issue has not yet been announced.