Albania votes in election seen as test for EU bid Current World News

Albania votes in election seen as test for EU bid

TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albanians were voting Sunday in parliamentary elections seen as a crucial test of democracy to prove the Balkan country is ready for EU membership.
Albania is under international pressure to make sure the vote is fair and free of the reports of fraud that have marred previous elections. The European Union and the United States have stressed Albania must do better this time.
Albania joined NATO on April 1 and wants to join the 27-nation EU.
“This is an important day for democracy. Please go and vote,” OSCE Ambassador Robert Bosch told Albanians at a news conference held together with U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers and Albanian President Bamir Topi.
Topi reminded Albanians that “the partners’ attention is on the correctness of these elections, which are decisive for Albania’s future.”
The U.S. ambassador also underlined the importance of a trouble-free vote. “The importance of these elections is that they be free, that they be fair, that they be transparent and that the will of the Albanian people, not the aspiration of the political parties, be fundamental,” Withers said.
About 500 international observers and about 3,000 local officials were monitoring the vote, in which some 3.1 million people are eligible to cast ballots. Some 5,500 police officers were deployed to ensure security.
The governing Democratic Party and the oppsoition Socialist Party were neck-and-neck in pre-election polls.
The two parties are offering similar platforms, pledging to fight poverty and take Albania closer to the EU. In total, some 4,300 candidates representing 34 political parties were vying for the 140 seats in Parliament.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha cast his ballot in downtown Tirana, telling reporters that “no Albanian will lose in this free and fair election in which Albanians” will prove they are ready to enter the EU.
Socialist leader and Tirana Mayor Eli Rama called on Albanians to vote “to change history.” Rama had campaigned on his his nine-year record in leading the capital, saying he fought corruption while improving salaries and creating jobs.
“All our international partners are watching our maturity and the will to become an integral part of the EU, in which holding free and fair elections is a precondition,” Rama said after casting his ballot in the capital.
“It’s important that people here are clear about wanting to be part of Europe,” construction engineer Fahri Meho, 47, said. “The voters are still far ahead of the politicians.”
Another voter chastised politicians for overusing the country’s aim of joining the EU.
“It’s not only about Europe. It’s about our traditions as well,” 24-year-old Solida Parruca said, adding that she hoped the new government looks after Albania’s needs before making pledges to foreign capitals and international organizations.
Three people have been killed in recent weeks in what local media said were politically motivated attacks, although that remains unclear.
A regional leader for the small Christian Democratic Party was driving when his car exploded earlier this month. One man was shot dead during an argument over a campaign poster, also in June. And an opposition lawmaker was gunned down in May.