Now that the election campaign has officially started, the PS and LSI have entered in a contest to win over the voters of the Democratic Party.
As the PD and other opposition parties will not participate in the elections, there are some 600,000 voters up for grabs. Both Prime Minister Edi Rama and Vice-Chair of the LSI, Monika Kryemadhi, have started to appeal to those that do not support the opposition’s boycott of the elections.
During an interview on Monday, Kryemadhi stated:
All democrats that don’t find themselves included have to come out and vote in the elections of June 18. They don’t want Edi Rama as Prime Minister? Then vote the Socialist Movement for Integration.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama appealed to party members at the PS Electoral Congress yesterday to direct their efforts to PD voters:
It will be up to you to meet people of the Democratic Party. Meet them, invite them to join us. Invite them to vote for the Socialist Party. Tell them that Albania today is not the same as yesterday, and tomorrow will not be the same as today.
It seems that the two former coalition partners are now fighting over the remains of the opposition, hoping to gain a bigger slice of the electoral pie. However, it appears unlikely that those who voted for the PD in 2013 will make a big difference in the upcoming elections. Either they will stay home and support the current boycott, or vote for the PS, LSI, or one of the smaller parties. The overall effect on the distribution of seats will be limited, and certainly not enough to swing the result to a full LSI victory, as Kryemadhi seems to suggest.
