Local elections were held in Albania on 18 February 2007. They came after threats to boycott the elections by opposition parties because of concerns over fraudulent voting rolls; because of this, the elections were rescheduled from 20 January 2007 to the new date on very short notice, a move which was criticised by observers. The elections were seen as crucial to the future of Albanian integration with the European Union.
Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and a maritime border with Italy to the west.
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.
The leftist opposition, led by Edi Rama's Socialist Party of Albania, won in the majority of the 384 municipalities, including the major cities of Tirana, Durrës, Fier, Elbasan, Korçë, Berat, Gjirokastër and Vlorë; the only major city won by the rightist government was Shkodër. But nationwide the mayor-candidates of PD+allies got 47,86% vs. 43,74% for PS+allies.
Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, artist, writer and former basketball player, who has been the 42nd Prime Minister of Albania and the Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2013 and January 2019, respectively. Rama has also been Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. Before his election as Prime Minister, Rama held a number of other positions. He was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1998, a position that he held until 2000.
The Socialist Party of Albania, is a social-democratic political party in Albania; it gained power following the 2013 parliamentary election. The party seated 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament. It achieved power in 1997 following a political crisis and governmental realignment. At the 2001 parliamentary election the party secured 73 seats, which enabled it to form a government. At the general election of 3 July 2005, the Socialist Party lost its majority and the Democratic Party of Albania (PD) formed the new government, having secured, with its allies, a majority of 81 seats.
Tirana is the capital city of the Republic of Albania.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria and its institutions. It has its origins in the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland.
The Council of Europe is an international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, covers approximately 820 million people and operates with an annual budget of approximately half a billion euros.
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