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2009 Albanian parliamentary election

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2009 Albanian parliamentary election
Albania
← 2005 28 June 2009 2013 →

All 140 seats in the Parliament of Albania
71 seats needed for a majority
Turnout50.77% (Increase1.70pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
Alliance for Change (70 seats)
PD Sali Berisha 40.18 68 +12
PR Fatmir Mediu 2.11 1 −10
PDI Tahir Muhedini 0.95 1 +1
Unification for Change (66 seats)
PS Edi Rama 40.85 65 +23
PBDNJ Vangjel Dule 1.19 1 −1
Socialist Alliance for Integration (4 seats)
LSI Ilir Meta 4.85 4 −1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Elected Prime Minister
Sali Berisha
PD
Sali Berisha
PD

Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 28 June 2009. No alliance achieved 71 deputies on its own needed to form a parliamentary majority. A coalition government was formed by the Democratic Party and Socialist Movement for Integration.

Electoral System

The 140 members of Parliament were elected in twelve multi-member constituencies analogous to the country's twelve counties. Within the constituencies, seats are elected by closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of 3% for parties and 5% for alliances.[1]

Seats are allocated to alliances using the d'Hondt system, then to political parties using the Sainte-Laguë method.[2]

Background

Prior to the election, the electoral law was changed to a regional and proportional system.[3][4] Polls from March and April 2009 saw a very close race, with both the governing Democratic Party of Albania and the opposition Socialist Party of Albania around 37%, with minor parties like the Socialist Movement for Integration, the G99 Movement, the Unity for Human Rights Party and the Republican Party of Albania in the low single digits.[5]

Shortly before the election, the ethnic Greek Unity for Human Rights Party switched their allegiance, abandoning their alliance with the Democratic Party of Albania to join the Socialist Party of Albania.[6] The Party for Justice and Integration, a party representing the interest of ethnic Albanians whose properties in Greece were seized after WW2, joined the coalition Alliance of Change.

Alliances

This election saw a total of 33 parties organized in four alliances, one party running on its own and one independent candidate.[7]

  • Alliance of Change (Aleance e Ndryshimit), was a center-right coalition made up from 16 parties and led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
  • Union for Change (Bashkimi për Ndryshim), was a coalition made up from 5 center-left and left winged Parties, led by that-time Mayor of Tirana Edi Rama.
  • Socialist Alliance for Integration (Alenaca Socialiste për Integrim), was a coalition made up from 6 center-left and liberal parties, led by former Prime Minister Ilir Meta.
  • Pole of Freedom (Poli i Lirisë), was a conservative coalition made up from 6 right winged parties, led by former Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi.

Results

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Alliance
for Change
Democratic Party of Albania610,46340.1868
Republican Party of Albania31,9902.111
Party for Justice and Integration14,4770.951
Environmentalist Agrarian Party13,2960.880
Legality Movement Party10,7110.710
Christian Democratic League6,0950.400
Albanian National Front Party5,1120.340
Liberal Democratic Union5,0080.330
Democratic Alliance Party4,6820.310
Democratic National Front Party4,1770.270
Party of New Albanian European Democracy2,1110.140
New Party of Denied Rights1,4080.090
Alliance for Democracy and Solidarity1,0670.070
Macedonian Alliance for European Integration1,0430.070
Ora of Albania7860.050
Forca Albania3190.020
Total712,74546.9270
Unification
for Change
Socialist Party of Albania620,58640.8565
Social Democratic Party of Albania26,7001.760
Unity for Human Rights Party18,0781.191
G9912,9890.860
Social Democracy Party of Albania10,3950.680
Total688,74845.3466
Socialist
Alliance for
Integration
Socialist Movement for Integration73,6784.854
Real Socialist Party '916,5480.430
Freedom and Human Rights Movements2,9310.190
Green Party of Albania4370.030
Party for the Defence of the Rights of the Emigrants3760.020
New Tolerance Party4370.030
Total84,4075.564
Pole of
Freedom
Demochristian Party of Albania13,3080.880
Movement for National Development10,7530.710
Albanian Democratic Union Party1,0300.070
Conservative Party1,0670.070
Albanian Party of Democratic Reforms4950.030
Path of Freedom Party1,0020.070
Total27,6551.820
Law and Justice Party4,8650.320
Independents7560.050
Total1,519,176100.00140
Valid votes1,519,17697.01
Invalid/blank votes46,9032.99
Total votes1,566,079100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,084,94650.77
Source: OSCE

Regional level

The electorate was split in twelve regions, in a regional proportional system, each of which elected a specific number of Members of Parliament (deputet). The following table details the regional results going from North to South.

Regions Alliance of Changes Unification of Changes Socialist Alliance for Integration Pole of Freedom Total seats
% Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats
Shkodër 58.11 7 35.18 4 2.9 0 3.45 0 11
Kukes 65.00 3 31.31 1 2.97 0 0.67 0 4
Lezhe 54.32 4 34.47 3 5.61 0 3.37 0 7
Diber 57.72 4 32.38 2 5.72 0 4.08 0 6
Durrës 51.65 7 39.22 5 8.02 1 0.85 0 13
Tirane 46.83 16 45.69 15 5.24 1 1.82 0 32
Elbasan 45.06 7 47.77 7 5.04 0 1.94 0 14
Fier 39.98 6 51.83 9 6.47 1 1.55 0 16
Berat 33.16 3 54.62 4 11.35 1 0.68 0 8
Korce 46.96 6 47.82 6 4.21 0 0.59 0 12
Vlore 37.46 5 54.89 7 5.01 0 2.45 0 12
Gjirokastër 40.10 2 55.9 3 3.27 0 0.59 0 5
Total 46.92 70 45.34 66 5.56 4 1.82 0 140

Aftermath

Initially the PD led coalition interred into discussions about dividing up the various cabinet posts.[8]

While it was still unclear whether the PD-led alliance held 70 or 71 seats, the leader of the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) announced on 4 July 2009 that he had accepted Berisha's invitation to form a government with the PD and stated he wanted to be a stabilising factor in Albania's path towards European Union membership.[9] With the addition of the four seats from LSI, the coalition had the necessary majority to form a government.[9] Nonetheless, in November 2010, the EU in its "Key findings of the Opinion on Albania" found that the political stalemate since the June 2009 elections was a significant barrier to Albania's candidacy for European Union membership.[10]

References