Albania went to the polls on 25 April 2021. The incumbent Socialist Party (PS) and its leader Edi Rama sought the third mandate while the main challenge came from the Democratic Party (PD) and its chairman Lulzim Basha. Prior to the elections, the PD created a pre-electoral coalition consisting of the PD and 13 smaller parties.
The Socialist Party won the election with 768.250 votes (48.68%), while the PD coalition received 622.265 in total (39.43%).
- The PD, without votes from its coalition partners, is estimated to have won 35.46% of the nationwide vote.
- PD election result is about 50,000 votes less than 2009 elections (610,463 total votes), but about 30,000 votes higher compared to 2013 elections (528,373 in total)
- PD had a very low result in 2017, together with its allies they got only 456,481 votes.
- In terms of percentages, In 2009, the PD alone received about 40.19% of the total votes in Albania, in 2013 about 30.63%, and in 2021 about 35.43% of the total votes.
- The PD coalition in 2021 received fewer votes (622,265 votes) than the PD coalition in the 2013 elections (680,677 votes) and even fewer than the coalition in 2009 (712,745 votes).
- In 2021 Democratic Party Alliance for Change (PD-AN) coalition received about 39.43% of the votes in the country compared to about 39.46% in 2013 and 46.92% in 2009.
- The PD alone received about 208,574 votes or 37% fewer votes than the PS (768,250) in the last elections.
- Compared to the Socialist Party, the opposition coalition PD-AN received about 146,000 votes less.
- PS alone received 38,449 votes more than the PD-AN and LSI coalition combined.
The data showed that while the PD improved in 2017, they did not recoup their position from 2009.
Although the 13 allied small parties brought over 62,000 votes in the PD coalition, the votes in total were not enough to secure victory. Even if PD-AN merged the votes with the Socialist Party for Integration (LSI) in a post-election coalition, they would not have more votes compared to Socialist Party.
Adopted for publication from Exit’s Editor in Chief Neritan Sejamini’s show “In a Few Words” on Euronews Albania.
