Elections in Albania

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 Albania

Regular elections in Albania are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament. The Parliament (Kuvendi) has 140 members elected for four-year terms.[1] The electoral system is open list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's 12 administrative regions. Within any constituency, parties must meet a threshold of 3 percent of votes, and pre-election coalitions must meet a threshold of 5 percent of votes.[2][3][4]

This electoral system replaced a mixed-member system in November 2008.[5] Under the old system, 100 members were elected directly in single member constituencies with approximately equal numbers of voters. 40 were elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their ranking. The total number of deputies of a party or a party coalition was to be, to the closest possible extent, proportional to the valid votes won by that party or coalition on the national scale in the first round of elections. Parties that received less than 2.5% and coalitions that received less than 4% of the valid votes on the national scale in the first round of elections did not benefit from the respective multi-name list.

The change was criticised by the smaller parties, but supported by the two main parties. It was considered an important step towards Albania's European integration. Other changes included limiting the prosecutor general's term to five years, forcing an early election in case of a no-confidence vote and reducing the majority required to elect the president from three-fifths to half the MPs.[6]

The president is elected by parliament.

Albania has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and several other parties that are electorally successful.

  1. ^ "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA" (PDF). osce.org. p. 12. Archived from the original on 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02. The Assembly consists of 140 deputies. One hundred deputies are elected directly in single member electoral zones with an approximately equal number of voters. Forty deputies are elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their ranking
  2. ^ "Exit Explains: What the Changes to the Electoral Code Mean for Voters". Exit - Explaining Albania. 2020-10-07. Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  3. ^ "IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Albania". Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  4. ^ "PART XII ALLOCATION OF SEATS". THE ELECTORAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA (English translation by OSCE) (pdf). p. 140. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Albanian parliament adopts new electoral law — EUbusiness.com - business, legal and economic news and information from the European Union". Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  6. ^ Ex-communist Albania changes voting system in constitutional shake up - International Herald Tribune