2009 Albanian parliamentary election

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.

2009 Albanian parliamentary election

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All 140 seats in the Parliament of Albania 71 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	50.77% (1.70pp)
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. Largest alliance by county Seat distribution by county Prime Minister before Elected Prime Minister Sali Berisha PD Sali Berisha PD

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 alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	Alliance for Change		Democratic Party of Albania	610,463	40.18	68
			Republican Party of Albania	31,990	2.11	1
			Party for Justice and Integration	14,477	0.95	1
			Environmentalist Agrarian Party	13,296	0.88	0
			Legality Movement Party	10,711	0.71	0
			Christian Democratic League	6,095	0.40	0
			Albanian National Front Party	5,112	0.34	0
			Liberal Democratic Union	5,008	0.33	0
			Democratic Alliance Party	4,682	0.31	0
			Democratic National Front Party	4,177	0.27	0
			Party of New Albanian European Democracy	2,111	0.14	0
			New Party of Denied Rights	1,408	0.09	0
			Alliance for Democracy and Solidarity	1,067	0.07	0
			Macedonian Alliance for European Integration	1,043	0.07	0
			Ora of Albania	786	0.05	0
			Forca Albania	319	0.02	0
		Total		712,745	46.92	70
	Unification for Change		Socialist Party of Albania	620,586	40.85	65
			Social Democratic Party of Albania	26,700	1.76	0
			Unity for Human Rights Party	18,078	1.19	1
			G99	12,989	0.86	0
			Social Democracy Party of Albania	10,395	0.68	0
		Total		688,748	45.34	66
	Socialist Alliance for Integration		Socialist Movement for Integration	73,678	4.85	4
			Real Socialist Party '91	6,548	0.43	0
			Freedom and Human Rights Movements	2,931	0.19	0
			Green Party of Albania	437	0.03	0
			Party for the Defence of the Rights of the Emigrants	376	0.02	0
			New Tolerance Party	437	0.03	0
		Total		84,407	5.56	4
	Pole of Freedom		Demochristian Party of Albania	13,308	0.88	0
			Movement for National Development	10,753	0.71	0
			Albanian Democratic Union Party	1,030	0.07	0
			Conservative Party	1,067	0.07	0
			Albanian Party of Democratic Reforms	495	0.03	0
			Path of Freedom Party	1,002	0.07	0
		Total		27,655	1.82	0
	Law and Justice Party			4,865	0.32	0
	Independents			756	0.05	0
Total				1,519,176	100.00	140
Valid votes				1,519,176	97.01
Invalid/blank votes				46,903	2.99
Total votes				1,566,079	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				3,084,946	50.77
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

1. Election Profile IFES
2. Electoral system IPU
3. Albania Sets June 28 Election Date, Looks To EU. Javno. January 14, 2009
4. Albania’s Elections and the Challenge of Democratic Transition: June 4, 2009: Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
5. Albanian Democrats, Socialists in Close Battle Archived 2009-05-17 at the Wayback Machine. Angus Reid Global Monitor. May 15, 2009
6. Albania's labor minister resigns as party jumps boat. People's Daily. May 15, 2009
7. Four coalitions to run in Albania's June general elections. Southeast European Times. May 17, 2009
8. "Albania's DP-led coalition starts talks on new government" SETimes.com 21 August 2009, as archived 10 June 2011
9. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) (4 July 2009) "Confusion over Albanian polls over, coalition talks begin - Summary" EarthTimes
10. European Commission (9 November 2010) "Key findings of the Opinion on Albania" MEMO/10/553