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There are 2,046 candidates in the race, representing 11 entities that are included in the voting portion, 3 of which are coalitions with two or more parties...
On May 11, Albania votes, while according to the Electoral Code, today, the day before the voting process, is an electoral silence.
The political parties closed their campaign on Friday evening, with the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party holding their final rallies and delivering their political messages to voters in two separate rallies that started and ended almost at the same time. The Socialists gathered at the Olympic Park, while the Democrats gathered at Bulevardi i Ri, thus avoiding Skanderbeg Square and Mother Teresa Square, where they usually open and close election campaigns.
Edi Rama focused his campaign on Albania's EU membership, while Sali Berisha focused on a program, promising to increase salaries and pensions. Berisha's Democrats entrusted the campaign management to Chris LaCivita, the American strategist who was often the 'target' of attacks by the Prime Minister, who also chose to 'baptize' him with the name Latif.
The Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania, in Article 77, clearly defines the period of electoral silence and the restrictions related to it. According to this article, the day before the election date and the election day, until the closing time of voting, constitute the electoral silence period.
During this period, any election campaign activity is prohibited, including the holding of rallies, other election activities, and the distribution of propaganda materials by electoral entities.
For those who violate this provision, the Electoral Code provides for financial sanctions.
Article 174 stipulates that electoral entities that break the electoral silence may be fined by the Central Election Commission (CEC) with an amount of 500,000 lek. Similarly, media that violate this rule may be fined with an amount of 2,000,000 lek.
These measures aim to ensure a fair and impartial electoral process, guaranteeing that voters have the opportunity to express their will without external influences during the period of electoral silence.
In the elections of May 11, 2025, 3 million 713,761 Albanian citizens have the right to vote, of whom 114,642 are voting for the first time.
There are 2,046 candidates in the race, representing 11 entities included in the voting portion, 3 of which are coalitions with two or more parties.
The Democrats led by Sali Berisha have the largest coalition with 25 parties, while Lulzim Basha has also registered as a coalition. The Socialists have continued to enter the process alone in these elections, aiming to maintain power without having other parties in their 'lap', as stated by the Prime Minister, who is also the leader of the Socialist Party, Edi Rama.
Several new parties, which have expressed their electoral objectives during the campaign, are competing as electoral entities in the May 11 elections. Interestingly, some of these parties, based on surveys by well-known companies, may be represented in the parliament resulting from the May 11 elections.
For the first time, Albanians from the diaspora, who have sent their votes by mail, will also be able to vote in these elections. The emigrants' votes will be counted by the Central Election Commission and will be counted as if the citizen had voted in the district where he or she resided in Albania.
The emigrant voting process has not been without controversy, with particular problems reported for Albanians who have chosen to vote by mail from Greece.
The campaign for May 11 has generally been calm, while SPAK has set up investigation groups in cooperation with district prosecutors, the police and law enforcement agencies, with the aim of preventing electoral crimes. Operations by SPAK and BKH agents have been reported in several regions of the country, while 35 cases are being investigated by the Special Prosecutor's Office, which has also set up a hotline at the disposal of citizens, to which violations of the law during the electoral process can be reported on Sunday.
Subjects competing on May 11
1. -Coalition Democratic Party – Alliance for a Greater Albania
2. Joint Movement Party
3. Homeland Movement
4. Euro-Atlantic Coalition
5. Socialist Party
6. The Albania Initiative Coalition
7. Albanian National Alliance
8. New Democracy Alliance
9. Right Coalition for Development
10. The Opportunity Party
11. Social Democratic Party
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