Albania
parliamentary elections
28/06/2009
Election Summary
Albanian parliamentary elections: June 28, 2009
With the Democratic Party (DP) at its helm, the Alliance for Change fell one seat short of taking the government reins. In a last ditch effort, the DP extended a hand to the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) , and the two joined forces to nudge the alliance to victory.
"It is the first time since the start of multi-party democracy in 1991 that a ruling party has been forced into a coalition through not winning enough seats on its own," the BBC reported in July.
"Albania has never managed to hold an election that meets international standards."
Election results dragged due to opposition Socialist Party (SP) allegations of ballot stuffing and vote manipulation.
According to final results, the Democratic Party (DP) and its allies won half of the 140 parliament seats.
The Socialists and their allies won 66 seats.
Voter turnout was nearly 51%.
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