Bardh Spahia, the candidate of the House of Freedom coalition backed by Sali Berisha, will be the new mayor of Shkoder.
Spahia won 43.67% of the vote, while Socialist Party’s Majlinda Angoni received 39.51%. This left the official Democratic Party (PD) with only 16.82%.
The ruling Socialist Party won by a landslide in the remaining five municipalities.
Lulzim Basha’s PD fared rather poorly in the elections, coming in last in five of the six municipalities, including Shkoder—a longtime bastion of the party.
Many had seen Sunday’s mayoral by-elections as a battle for legitimacy between Berisha and Basha who have been at odds since this latter expelled the former Prime Minister from the party’s parliamentary group.
The ensuing row split the party, with Berisha launching a PD Refoundation Group and joining a coalition with the Socialist Movement for Integration to run on March 6.