Albanian Vote a Watershed
Citizens of Europe’s poorest country voted Sunday in a watershed election testing whether anti-Communists can sweep away the Socialist Party successors to a legacy of Stalinism.
The number of Albanians lined up to vote Sunday was easily matched by the crowds waiting to buy kerosene or bread, underlining the economy’s impact on the campaign.
Primitive communications are expected to delay the final results. At stake are 140 parliamentary seats.
Polls generally opened at 7 a.m. Sunday, but bureaucratic mix-ups slowed the start of voting in some districts. Democrats and Socialists complained of scattered voting irregularities.
Unofficial estimates by the Democratic Party put turnout at 80%. There were no reports of violence.
Albanians live in a world of hunger, crime and chaos. Socialists, the former Communists, won last year’s elections, but this year, the anti-Communist Democratic Party is expected to ride to victory on a wave of discontent.
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