Woman Triumphs in Conservative Albanian Backwater

Adelina Farrici (center), newly elected mayor of Burrel | Photo by : Socialist Party

Farrici was one of only two women to be elected mayors in local elections held on Sunday in Albania.

She received 3,658 votes against 3,119 cast for the incumbent mayor Skender Lleshi. 

Her feat was yet more impressive considering she unseated a two-term mayor, in a town seen as a stronghold of the ruling centre-right Democratic Party 

“This is a break with the town’s mentality, she said, "though I've always believed that women should never feel... that they are not able to win," she added.

Before the campaign, she worked as a headteacher in a local school.

“We live in a male-dominated society and should be daring and not allow our fate to be sealed by others,” the 43-year-old added.

"My victory is dedicated to the woman and girls of Burrel who more than at any other time felt motivated to go out and cast their ballots," she continued. "I think they saw themselves in me, or a future for their own daughters, who can achieve if they dare." 

Women’s representation in political life of Albania remains relatively low. Out of 140 MPs, 23 are women, or only 16 per cent.

Albania’s electoral code stipulates that in local elections one in every three names on each candidate list must belong to each gender. But failure to respect the quota results in a fine of only 30,000 lek, or 213 euro.

According to the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary findings report, many candidate lists for the elections did not meet the gender requirement. In these elections, only 14 of 872 mayoral candidates were female, or 2 per cent.

Apart the strong backing from women, Farrici said she owed her victory to her realistic campaign, in which she had promised only what she felt she could truly deliver, rather than trying to trick the electorate with "big promises".

“I consider this a victory based on values and on the citizenship of the people of Burrel that believe in me,” she said.

This article was made possible through the support of the National Endowment for Democracy.