Albanian parliamentary election, 2001

Last updated
Albanian parliamentary election, 2001

Flag of Albania.svg

←  1997 24 June 2001 (first round); 8 July 2001 (second round) 2005  →
100 Constituencies and 40 Compensatory seats with National Proportional Representation
71 seats needed for a majority

  First party Second party Third party
  Ilir meta.jpg Msc 2006-Saturday, 16.00 - 18.00-Berisha.jpg Genc Pollo.jpg
Leader Ilir Meta Sali Berisha Genc Pollo
Party Socialist Democratic PDR
Leader since 1999 1991 2001
Leader's seat Skrapar Kavajë
Seats before 101 24 seats New
Seats won73 46 6
Seat changeDecrease2.svg28Increase2.svg22Increase2.svg6
Popular vote 555,272 494,272 68,181
Percentage41.4% 36.9% 5.1%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  Partia Social Demokrate.svg Vangjel Dule.jpg Neritan Ceka 2012GE ii.jpg
Leader Skënder Gjinushi Vangjel Dule Neritan Ceka
Party PSD PBDNJ Democratic Alliance
Seats before 9 seats 4 0
Seats won 4 3 3
Seat changeDecrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg1Increase2.svg3
Popular vote 48,911 34,897 34,262
Percentage 3.7% 2.6% 2.6%
Prime Minister before election

Ilir Meta
Socialist

Elected Prime Minister

Ilir Meta
Democratic

Albania
Albania state emblem.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Albania

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 24 June 2001. [1] The result was a victory for the ruling Socialist Party of Albania, which won 73 of the 140 seats, resulting in Ilir Meta remaining Prime Minister. Voter turnout was 53.6%. [2]

Albania country in Southeast Europe

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.

Socialist Party of Albania Albanian political party

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.

Ilir Meta Albanian diplomat and politician

Ilir Meta is an Albanian diplomat and politician who has been serving as President of Albania since 24 July 2017. Previously he served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002, and at age 30 he is to date the youngest person to have been Prime Minister in Albanian history. Meta also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2003 and again from 2009 to 2010. He was Chairman of the Parliament of Albania from 2013 to 2017. Meta also held positions as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade, and Energy. Prior to that, he held the Chairmanship of the Parliamentary Commission of European Integration. Meta founded the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) in 2004.

Contents

Electoral system

The Assembly of Albania has 140 members of whom 100 are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies and 40 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system. [3]

Campaign

President Rexhep Meidani announced on 18 April 2001 that the first round of the elections would be held on 24 June, with the second round on 8 July. [4] The governing Socialist Party had the aim of gaining 60% of the vote, in order to have a sufficient majority to elect a new President in 2002. They campaigned on infrastructure improvements such as communication and transport and on their record in restoring order and economic growth. [5] They were also boosted by achieving the opening of negotiations with the European Union on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement just before the election. [6]

President of Albania head of state of Albania and commander-in-chief of the Albanian military

The President of Albania, officially styled the President of the Republic of Albania, is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representative of the unity of the Albanian people.

Rexhep Meidani Albanian politician

Rexhep Qemal Meidani is an Albanian physics professor, diplomat and politician. Meidani was the 3rd President of Albania to be elected after the first multi-party elections in 1991.

European Union Economic and poitical union of states located in Europe

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 main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Albania led by ex-President Sali Berisha, had moderated their message after losing the 2000 local elections. They formed a coalition of right wing parties, the Union for Victory Coalition, and said that they were open to dealing with other parties if they won the election. [6] They hoped to make gains due to public concern over corruption and the continuing poverty in Albania. [5]

Democratic Party of Albania political party

The Democratic Party of Albania is a conservative political party in Albania. The party became the leading party in the governing coalition following the 2005 parliamentary elections. It is an associate member of the European People's Party (EPP) and a full member of the International Democrat Union and Centrist Democrat International. Rilindja Demokratike is the party's official newspaper.

Sali Berisha Albanian politician

Sali Berisha (help·info), is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. He was also the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania twice, from 1991 to 1992 and then again from 1997 to 2013. To date, Berisha is the longest-serving democratically elected leader and the only Prime Minister to serve two full terms since the end of Communism.

The campaign was generally peaceful and with no reliable opinion polls most observers expected the ruling Socialists to be re-elected with a smaller majority. [7]

Opinion poll type of survey

An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

Voting

First round

Both main parties initially claimed victory after the first round on the 24 June in which turnout reached about 60%. The governing Socialist party claimed that they won 45 of the 100 seats. [8] Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) described the election as having made progress towards international democratic standards. [5] However the opposition Democratic party claimed there was widespread intimidation and electoral fraud. [8] Procedural differences led to polling stations being kept closed in Lushnje leading to voting having to be delayed for about 30,000 people. [9] The results of the first round showed that the Socialists won 33 seats as against 17 won by the Democrats. [10]

Voter turnout percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. Age and citizenship status are often among the criteria used to determine eligibility, but some countries further restrict eligibility based on sex, race, or religion.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe security-oriented intergovernmental organization

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.

Second round

A run-off vote to decide the winner in 51 districts where no candidate won over half the vote in the first round was held on 8 July. Another 40 seats were decided in proportion to the share of the vote each party won. [11]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/-
ConstituencyCompensatoryTotal
Socialist Party of Albania 555,27241.473073-28
Union for Victory Coalition 494,27236.9252146+21
New Democratic Party 68,1815.1066New
Social Democratic Party of Albania 48,9113.7044-5
Unity for Human Rights Party 34,8972.6033-1
Democratic Alliance Party 34,2622.6033+3
Environmentalist Agrarian Party 34,2472.6033+3
Democratic Party of Albania 13,8671.0000–
Demochristian Party of Albania 12,2260.9000-2
Social Christian Party of Albania9,2240.7000New
Albanian Democratic Union Party 8,1230.6000New
Independents202-11
Invalid/blank votes49,310–––––
Total1,339,98710010040140-15
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Adam Carr

Note that the data is inconsistent and there is a difference of 22,805 between the parties' total and the number of valid votes. [2]

Aftermath

The constitutional court ruled that voting had to be repeated in eight districts on 22 July and a further two on 29 July. [12] International observers described the elections as a whole as having been free and fair. [13] However the opposition Democrats said they would not accept the results. They described the election as a farce and started a boycott of Parliament. [13] The boycott lasted for six months until January 2002 when Sali Berisha announced that his party was returning to Parliament. [14]

Related Research Articles

Fatos Nano Albanian politician

Fatos Thanas Nanolisten (help·info) is an Albanian socialist politician who was the Prime Minister of Albania several times; he was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member of the Albanian Parliament from 1991 to 1996 and 1997 to 2009. He reformed the Anti-Revisionist Marxist-Leninist ideology of the Labor Party of Albania into social democracy for its successor, the Socialist Party. During his leadership, the Socialist Party, as a result of reforms, joined the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists. Nano was a candidate in the 2007 presidential election but did not win. He again tried in the 2012 presidential election, but he did not even qualify as a candidate, because the leaders of parties in Parliament obstructed their respective MPs to elect him as candidate in the elections.

The Democratic Alliance Party is a liberal political party in Albania. The party was formed in 1992 by Neritan Ceka and other dissidents of the Democratic Party of Albania. They opposed the leadership of the party's leader Sali Berisha. The Democratic Alliance Party became part of a socialist led government in 1997. In the June 2001 elections it received 2.4% of the vote and three members of parliament. The party continued in government. In the elections in July 2005 it won 3 seats in Parliament.

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 3 July 2005. The result was a victory for the opposition Democratic Party (PD) and its allies, prominently the Republican Party (PR). Former president Sali Berisha became prime minister as a result of the election. Voter turnout was only 48.0%.

2006 Montenegrin parliamentary election election

Constitutional Assembly elections were held in the newly independent Republic of Montenegro on 10 September 2006. Prime Minister Milo Đukanović's Coalition for a European Montenegro, at whose core was the Democratic Party of Socialists, won 39 seats in the 81 seat parliament with the vote near fully counted. The opposition blocs together received 34 seats. There were 484,430 eligible voters.

2007 Albanian presidential election

Indirect presidential elections were held in Albania on 20 and 27 June, 8, 11, 14, and 20 July, the sixth such elections since the collapse of the communist regime in 1991.

Bamir Topi former President of Albania

Bamir Myrteza Topi is an Albanian diplomat and politician. He served as President of Albania from 2007 to 2012.

2002 Algerian legislative election

The 2002 Algerian Legislative election was held in Algeria on 30 May 2002 to elect members of the People's National Assembly. The governing National Liberation Front (FLN) won a majority of seats in the election. The election suffered from a low turnout, violence and boycotts by some opposition parties.

Fall of communism in Albania event, starting in December 1990 with student protests; political pluralism was allowed on 11 December; the Labor Party won the 1991 elections (in a coalition with non-communists), but lost the 1992 elections amid economic collapse and social unrest

The fall of Communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the USSR, started in earnest on December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests had begun earlier that year in other cities. The Central Committee of the communist Party of Labour of Albania allowed political pluralism on 11 December and the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, was founded the next day. March 1991 elections left the Party of Labour in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a "stability government" that included non-communists. Albania's former communists were routed in elections in March 1992 amid economic collapse and social unrest, with the Democratic Party winning most seats and its party head, Sali Berisha, becoming president.

In 1991, the Socialist Party of Albania, with specific social democratic ideology took control of the country through democratic elections. One year later the Democratic Party of Albania won the new elections. After 1990, Albania has been seeking a closer relationship with the West. What followed were deliberate programs of economic and democratic reform, but Albanian inexperience with capitalism led to the proliferation of pyramid schemes – which were not banned due to the corruption of the government. Chaos in late 1996 to early 1997, as a result of the collapse of these pyramid schemes, alarmed the world and prompted the influx of international peacekeeping forces. In 1995, Albania was accepted into the Council of Europe and requested membership in NATO and is a potential candidate country for accession to the European Union. The workforce of Albania has continued to emigrate to Western countries, especially Greece and Italy.

Early parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 29 June 1997 alongside a simultaneous referendum on restoring the monarchy, with a second round of voting for 32 seats on 6 July. The elections were called as a response to the 1997 Pyramid Crisis. The result was an overwhelming victory for the opposition Socialist Party of Albania, which won 101 of the 151 seats. Voter turnout was 72.6%.

A referendum on restoring the monarchy was held in Albania on 29 June 1997 alongside parliamentary elections. Officially the proposal was rejected by 66.7% of voters, although Crown Prince Leka claimed that 65.7% voted in favour.

2011 Albanian local elections

The Albanian local elections of 2011 took place on 8 May 2011 in Albania. Electors were asked to elect their municipality's mayor, municipal council members, municipal unit mayor, and municipal unit members. The elections were administrated by the Central Election Commission of Albania. Only 9 of the 384 winning candidates were women.

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 22 March 1992, with a second round of voting for eleven seats on 29 March. The result was a victory for the opposition Democratic Party of Albania, which won 92 of the 140 seats. After the election Aleksandër Meksi became Prime Minister and Sali Berisha became President.

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 26 May 1996, with a second round of voting for 25 seats on 2 June. The result was a victory for the ruling Democratic Party of Albania, which won 122 of the 140 seats. Voter turnout was 89.1%.

2012 Albanian presidential election election

Indirect presidential elections were held in Albania on 30 May, 4, 8 and 11 June 2012. the seventh such elections since the collapse of the communist regime in 1991. The first through third rounds of voting were inconclusive. The fourth round resulted in the incumbent party's member Bujar Nishani being elected as President.

2013 Albanian parliamentary election 2013 parliamentary election in Albania

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 23 June 2013. The result was a victory for the Alliance for a European Albania led by the Socialist Party and its leader, Edi Rama. Incumbent Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party-led Alliance for Employment, Prosperity and Integration conceded defeat on 26 June, widely viewed as a sign of growing democratic maturity in Albania.

The following lists events that happened during 2009 in Republic of Albania.

2017 Albanian parliamentary election 2017 parliamentary election in Albania

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 25 June. They were first scheduled for 18 June, but after a possible boycott was announced by the opposition parties, during a large political crisis that lasted 3 months, an agreement was reached between all the political parties on 18 May to change the date. On 28 June, the central election council announced that Socialist party had won a majority.

References

  1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p133 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. 1 2 Nohlen & Stöver p140
  3. ↑ "Election Guide". IFES.
  4. ↑ "News from Albania". Central Europe Review. 2001-04-23. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  5. 1 2 3 "Socialists claim Albania poll victory". BBC Online . 2001-06-25. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  6. 1 2 "PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ALBANIA: A MISSION POSSIBLE?!". Alternative Information Network. 2001-06-21. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  7. ↑ "Albania goes to the polls". BBC Online . 2001-06-24. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  8. 1 2 Wood, Nicholas (2001-06-26). "Albanian opposition alleges election fraud". London: guardian.co.uk . Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Violence Mars Albania Vote for Parliament". The New York Times . 2001-06-25. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  10. ↑ "Albania urged to accept vote result". BBC Online . 2001-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  11. ↑ "Albanian opposition condemns 'ballot fixing'". BBC Online . 2001-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  12. ↑ "Electoral Marathon". Transitions Online. 2001-07-23. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  13. 1 2 "Albanian opposition attacks election ' farce'". BBC Online . 2001-07-30. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  14. ↑ "As Split of Albania Socialists Worsens, Prime Minister Quits". The New York Times . 2002-01-30. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.