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Some of the architects of Trump's presidential campaigns have reunited in Albania to help Berisha's campaign.
For Brussels, Sunday's vote is a major test for Albania, which has been a NATO member since 2009.
“Organizing free and fair elections, in line with democratic norms and values, will be an essential step to strengthen Albanian democracy, increase citizens’ trust in their elected representatives and advance the country’s European integration,” said Silvio Gonzato, EU Ambassador to Tirana.
Five days after the elections, Tirana will host the summit of the European Political Community, an intergovernmental discussion forum about the future of Europe - established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The May 11 elections pitted Prime Minister Edi Rama against his sworn rival, right-wing Sali Berisha, who leads an alliance of opposition parties.
Rama, 60, has been leader of the Socialist Party since 2005 and is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term on the promise of European Union membership by 2030.
The 80-year-old Berisha is eager to return to power after 12 years in opposition.
The former president's coalition has adopted the Donald Trump-style slogan - "Greater Albania" and is campaigning on a platform of economic revival.
"We are the only ones who can relaunch the country's economy, the only ones who are able to move Albania forward. Edi Rama is counting the last days of his regime," said Berisha.
Some of the architects of Trump's presidential campaigns have reunited in Albania to help Berisha's campaign.
They include Chris LaCivita, who served as co-manager of Trump's successful 2024 campaign; early Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio, and Paul Manafort, who served as Trump's campaign chairman in 2016 - before being convicted in 2018 of crimes that included secretly lobbying for the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine.
"It's the only Democratic Party I would ever consider working for," LaCivita joked, as he headed to the country for his third trip before Sunday's election.
Berisha, who hopes the new US administration will lift sanctions that bar him from entering the United States, has also signed a two-year, $6 million contract with Continental Strategy, a Republican consulting and lobbying firm.
At the end of a campaign marked by confrontations, especially on social media, the latest polls show a victory for Rama's party.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said there was "extreme political polarization" in the Balkan nation of 2.8 million people.
The former Prime Minister accuses the Socialists of "vote buying, voter intimidation, pressure, use of public funds by ministers and majority candidates for their election campaign" - allegations which Rama has dismissed as "nothing other than an excuse for the defeat".
For the first time in the history of elections in Albania, the diaspora is able to vote from abroad by mail. This is being seen as a test for the development of democratic processes and institutions - in the context of EU accession negotiations, which began in 2022.
According to official data from the Central Election Commission, 245,935 Albanians who do not reside in Albania are registered to vote.
"Albania has made significant progress on its path to EU membership, demonstrating its persistence in implementing ambitious reforms for the benefit of its citizens," Silvio Gonzato, the ambassador of the EU delegation to Albania, told the French news agency AFP.
The losers have challenged the results of every election since the fall of communism in the early 1990s, claiming fraud. / Adapted Pamphlet from RFI /
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