Lawmakers are due to return to the plenary chamber at 5 p.m.

Under the Constitution, the parliamentary session is due to begin on the first Monday of September. This year’s opening was postponed to Tuesday, September 8, because of a public holiday.

Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi is scheduled to deliver the opening address. The agenda formally provides only for the opening of the session, although it remains unclear whether the heads of the parliamentary groups will also take the floor.

Protests are expected outside parliament by supporters of the so-called “Flamingo Revolution”, who have been demonstrating for nearly 100 days. Police are expected to impose a security perimeter around the parliament building to facilitate lawmakers’ access.

Territorial reform is expected to be one of the main issues of debate during the new session. In August, the ruling majority proposed redrawing Albania’s administrative map and reducing the number of municipalities from 61 to 46.

Preparations for the next local elections are also expected to be high on the agenda. The elections are scheduled to take place in spring 2027.

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Polling stations will open at 07:00 and will close at 19:00, with the possibility of up to a one-hour extension in cases of technical or procedural delays, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said.

According to the CEC, Vlorë has the largest number of registered voters with 160,424, followed by Berat with 74,760, Cërrik with 35,380, Mat with 26,765 and Tepelenë with 11,658.

A total of 474 polling stations are in operation across nine local election administration zones.

The vote is being conducted using the Electronic Voter Identification System in 472 polling stations, where voters present biometric ID cards or passports and verify identity with fingerprint scanning to prevent fraud.

The process is being monitored by domestic and international observers. Ballot counting will begin immediately after the close of voting.

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According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), a total of 2,069,098 citizens are eligible to vote, including 43,993 registered voters from abroad. Postal voting began on September 17 and closed on October 11.

The CEC has certified 93 political entities to participate in the elections – comprising 32 political parties, 2 coalitions, 32 civic initiatives, and 27 independent candidates.

In total, 5,624 candidates are running: 205 for mayoral races and 5,419 for municipal assemblies.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and will close at 7:00 p.m., during which the electoral silence period remains in effect.

The elections are being held in 938 polling centers with 2,625 voting stations in total, including 910 regular voting centers with 2,571 stations, and 38 conditional voting centers with 54 stations.

If required, a second round of voting will be held four weeks after Sunday’s elections.

This marks the second time this year that Kosovo citizens have gone to the polls, following the parliamentary elections held on February 9.

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The President’s office said in a release on Monday that the decision on setting the local elections day was made following consultations with political parties and a careful review that fully complies with constitutional and legal requirements.

“Setting this date aims at allowing relevant institutions, namely the Central Elections Commission and other relevant bodies, make full preparations for the process in order to meet highest election administration standards,” the President’s office said in its statement.

The municipal election date provides sufficient time for Central Election Commission and relevant institutions to prepare logistical and technical arrangements according to legal provisions.

President Osmani urged political parties, civil society organizations and the citizens to engage responsibly to ensure an inclusive, fair, and well-administered electoral process.

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The Prime Minister’s office officially notified the President of the vacancy created in Himara after nullification of the mandate of the Mayor-elect Dhionisios (Alfred) Petro Beleri and demanded that a date is set for local elections within the deadlines stipulated by the Electoral Code.

After the central election body’s decision earlier today, the Council of Ministers urged the President of the Republic to quickly schedule early elections in Himara.

President Bajram Begaj called the State Elections Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi to consult and learn about CEC’s management capacities and readiness to prepare and allow for a regular conduct of an election campaign.

Following the meeting, President Begaj set August 4, 2024 as the date for the mayoral election sin Himara.

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In a post on the social media, Foreign Minister praised Albanian political parties for taking part in the local elections there, hoping for the highest possible voters turnout.

“Only by participating can the citizens’ political will be expressed and the future we want can be built,” Hasani said.

“Together for democracy and the common European integration,” Foreign Minister concluded his message, wishing every success to the Albanian political parties in the Valley.

Mayoral elections took place in several municipalities last December, whereas elections polls will open in over 60 more local government units – including Presheva and Buajanoc – on June 2.

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The draft decision on Announcement of the final May 14 local elections result was approved by the Regulatory Commission with three votes in favour and one vote against.

The election results for each mayoral candidate and the number of votes for each electoral subject were presented.

Specifically:

1-Socialist Party (SP) – 579 625 votes (43,11%),

2-Together We Win coalition – 247 883 votes  (18,44%)

3-Democratic Party – 103 723 votes (7,71%)

4-Socialdemocratic Party– 86 283 votes (6,42%)

5-Agrarian Environmentalist Party of Albania – 44 047 votes (3,28%)

6-Albanian Republican Party– 32 071 vots (2,39%)

7-Justice, Integration and Unity Party– 28 978 votes (2,16%)

8-Legality Movement Party– 23.683 votes (1,76%)

9-Progresist Alliance LZHK – 22.906 votes (1,70%)

10-Social Democracy Party– 21.798 votes (1,62%)

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But, according to the regulation, the process continues in some polling centers as voters are still trying to cast their ballots.

Albanians headed to the polls on Sunday to elect local councilors and mayors across 61 municipalities. A total of 3,650,550 voters, including 122 545 first time voters, were called to choose between more than 24,000 candidates for councillor and mayor from 40 political parties.

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“The electoral campaign is nearing its end and the political parties have put forward their proposals. Silence should now follow as it is your turn to speak up. And this is essential, your vote,” President Begaj said in a message ahead of the campaign silence due on Saturday.

The President underlined that the local elections give the opportunity to improve the living space and standards.

“The representatives you will elect on May 14 will be responsible for your life quality. They will be responsible for good management of local resources and to create through them new development opportunities for future projects for local government. Please cast your vote responsibly without bypassing this very crucial moment for our cities and communities,” Begaj said in his message.

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PM Rama said in a televised interview that the race is open in 11 other municipalities.

“Socialist Party will win 48 municipalities in the worst case scenario. We conduct regular surveys each month. According to our calculations, I can state today that SP will win 49 or 50 municipalities,” PM Rama said.

He said that the race is open in every municipality throughout the country.

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