Albania's main opposition party has alleged irregularities in the recent elections in which the ruling Socialist Party claimed victory.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), while broadly welcoming improvements on previous ballots in Albania, critisised incidents of ‘ballotstuffing’ and police interference.
The Socialist Party of Prime Minister Ilir Meta said it had won 37 of the 44 seats contested in yesterday's second round of polls seen as a crucial test for democracy and stability in the poverty-riven Balkan country.
The Socialist-led government has overseen a return to stability and economic growth, since coming to power following a wave of violence in 1997, but have been widely accused of corruption.
Mr Meta appears to have won re-election. In the June 24th first round his party won 21 electoral districts, against 10 for the main opposition Democratic Party, according to official results. Yesterday the Democrats won seven seats.
Full official results are not expected before Wednesday, and the electoral commission has called on all sides to refrain from speculation.
But the main opposition Democratic Party of former president Mr Sali Berisha called for re-runs to be held in about 10 constituencies.
International observers welcomed overall improvements. "We can say there has been progress in the areas of election administration, media and campaign conduct", said OSCE official Mr Nikolai Vulchanov.
But he added problems remain. "Further substantial improvements are needed to fully meet international standards for democratic elections. The international observers reported a number of serious concerns, including isolated cases of police interference, detentions of election commission members, and ballot stuffing," he said.
AFP