(ANSA-AFP) - TIRANA, MAY 8 - Albanians go to the polls on
Sunday for legislative elections seen as crucial to gauge the
country's democratic development and determine its widely held
goal of a European future. The vote -- a first of its kind, as
Albanians abroad can take part -- pits outgoing Prime Minister
Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha, a right-winger who
heads an alliance of opposition parties. Rama, 60, has been
Socialist Party leader since 2005 and is seeking an
unprecedented fourth consecutive term on a promise of European
Union membership by 2030. The doors to Brussels, he says, are
the key to "being able to give Albanians a European passport"
and allowing them to "benefit from the same rights as citizens
of all other European countries". Trying to stop Rama is
Berisha, 80, who is eager to return to power after 12 years in
opposition. The former president heads an opposition coalition
that has adopted a Donald Trump-like slogan, "Great Albania",
based on economic revival. "We are the only ones who can
relaunch the country's economy, the only ones able to take
Albania forward. Edi Rama is counting the last days of his
regime," said Berisha. The campaign also gives him a chance to
reburnish his image as a strong leader, despite being under the
spotlight of Albanian justice, where he is suspected of being
implicated in a corruption case that allegedly benefited his
family. Shortly before the end of a campaign marked by verbal
excesses, particularly on social media, the latest polls
indicated a win for Rama's party. The Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe meanwhile said there was "extreme
political polarisation" in the Balkan nation of 2.8 million.
Berisha accuses the socialists of "vote-buying, voter
intimidation, pressure, use of public funds by ministers and
majority candidates for their election campaign". Rama has
dismissed the claims as "nothing but an excuse for defeat".
(ANSA-AFP).
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