The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
Albania’s Ruling Party Leads in Exit Polls
Tirana | 28 June 2009 |
Prime Minister Sali Berisha
Polls closed at 7pm, however some stations remained opened until voters standing in line at closing time were able to cast their ballot. The voting process has been generally peaceful, with a few minor incidents reported.
Now newly promoted to NATO membership and having filed for EU candidate status, Albania's democratic credentials could receive a boost if the process is finalised in a peaceful climate.
“There are no losers today,” commented Prime Minister Sali Berisha when polls closed, adding that the poll had been a victory for the Albanian people on their route to the Europe Union.
Opposition leader Edi Rama, speaking after Berisha, agreed that the election had been marred by only a few minor incidents, but dismissed exit polls as inaccurate.
“We have won this battle,” he said about the electoral process. “However the exit poll concept cannot give us a clear picture in this country, because people who voted for the opposition were not free to express their vote.
"These exit polls are an experiment in the wrong place at the wrong time," Rama added.
According to the exit poll conducted by Zogby International for broadcaster Top-Channel TV, the Democratic Party, DP, leads with 69 seats, the Socialist Party, PS, trails with 55 seats, four seats go to the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI, while 11 seats are undetermined.
The exit poll of the Gani Bobi Institute put the DP at 76 seats in the next parliament and the PS at 60 seats. The DP also clearly leads in an exit poll conducted by PRI marketing for Ora News.
This is the first time in Albania’s political history that exit polls have been published and it remains unclear whether the results will be accurate.
Early official results from the Central Electoral Commission are not expected until Monday.
