Albania`s left-wing ruling coalition leads local polls

Albania`s ruling left-wing coalition was leading in most areas after local elections at the weekend, the first results showed Monday, as international observers assessed the polling day "positively".

Mayoral candidates from the Socialist-led coalition, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, were ahead in most towns, the election commission said, in a vote seen as a test of Albania`s fragile democracy as it pushes to join the European Union. 

In the capital Tirana, the coalition`s candidate Erion Veliaj, former minister for social affairs, won 53.5 percent of votes while his right-wing rival, Halim Kosova, won 39 percent, the results showed after ballots were counted at two thirds of polling stations.

About 48 percent of 3.3 million eligible voters turned out to elect mayors and councillors in 61 municipalities in the Balkan nation, where elections since the fall of communism in the early 1990s have often been marred by violence and accusations of fraud.

Almost 400 foreign and 5,000 local observers were monitoring the vote, notably from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe and European Union.

"The observers... assessed election day positively, by and large, although there were many cases of group voting and some procedural irregularities," the observing mission said in a statement Monday. 

The mission also noticed use of "state resources" in the electoral campaign by ruling parties` officials and alleged pressure on the voters.

Albania`s main opposition Democratic Party cried foul right after polling stations closed on Sunday, condemning what it called voting "irregularities".

Albania obtained EU candidate status a year ago and hopes to open accession talks by the end of the year. The move was aimed at encouraging the country`s progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime and in establishing the rule of law.