A prime minister seeking an unprecedented fourth term, a deeply entrenched opposition, and a crop of new parties angling for influence—Albania’s parliamentary election on May 11 comes amid deep domestic polarization. Voters will head to the polls at a strategically pivotal moment for the Western Balkan nation, which remains among the most staunchly pro-US countries in the region and is determined to press forward with its bid for European Union (EU) membership.
Ahead of the election, Europe Center experts break down the key issues, players, and trends to watch this weekend.
Who is Prime Minister Edi Rama—and who are his main challengers?
The Socialist Party (PS) and its popular leader Edi Rama are running for a fourth term in office, despite the wear and tear of years in power and a series of corruption-related controversies tied to their administration at various political and executive levels.
Rama’s main challenger is Sali Berisha, who has been the leader of Albania’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Party (PD), for the last three decades. He served as prime minister from 2005 to 2013—a position he last held twelve years ago. In the interim, he faced a three-year period of internal party conflict over his designation as “persona non grata” by the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as corruption investigations by the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK).
Next to the eleven parties participating in this election, SPAK is a key actor to watch, as it is currently investigating high-level politicians across the political spectrum. Ilir Meta, the former president of the Freedom Party (PL)—the third largest party in the country based on the results of the 2021 parliamentary elections—is under arrest; Arben Ahmetaj, the former deputy prime minister, is on the run; Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, has been detained; and Sali Berisha, the main opposition leader, is under investigation.
Due to its handling of high-profile cases, SPAK is now the most trusted institution in Albania, and a majority of voters support its continued operation as an independent body, free from political interference. Meanwhile, opposition leaders such as Berisha have openly called for SPAK’s dismantlement and frequently accuse the agency of political bias.
It’s also worth noting that over the past year, three new political entities—the Coalition Shqipëria Bëhet (Albania is Being Made), the Mundësia (Opportunity) Party, and Lëvizja Bashkë (Together Movement)—have entered the race. Although these parties represent diverse ideological positions—spanning the center, right, and left—they share anti-establishment sentiments and appear to be emerging as a significant political force ahead of the vote.
—Ilva Tare is a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center
Rama, the eccentric leader of the PS, has been a central figure in Albanian politics for nearly a quarter century, serving three terms as the mayor of the capital Tirana (2000-2011), and then another three as prime minister. He is now seeking an unprecedented fourth term while still presenting himself as a candidate of change. Although this narrative seems far-fetched, it might gain traction, largely because his main rival, Berisha, has been in politics even longer, serving as Albania’s first post-communist president and later as prime minister for two terms.
Albania’s highly polarized political scene is largely a duopoly between the PS and PD, where electoral victories have often been determined by the ability of the two parties’ strong-handed leaders to control “rebellious” factions on the margins. The PD’s last stint in power (2005-2013) came after a sizable split within the left. Now, it is the right wing that has splintered, creating a few smaller factions and leaving the opposition less competitive. A handful of small, new parties are competing and may secure a few seats—mostly in the capital, Tirana. They hope to gain decisive leverage if Rama, who is favored to win, fails to secure a majority to govern alone.
—Agon Maliqi is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center
Active in Albanian politics since 1998, starting as minister of culture, Rama has served as prime minister since 2013. While internationally recognized for his distinctive political style, his artistic background, and his focus on urban development, Rama’s three terms in office have been marked by a mix of modernization efforts and corruption scandals.
His main challenger is the center-right PD, the country’s primary opposition force, which has itself been mired in internal turmoil in recent years. Meanwhile, the former Socialist Movement for Integration, now known as the PL, has seen its influence wane, particularly after suffering heavy losses in the 2021 elections. Party leader and former President of Albania, Ilir Meta, remains in custody since his arrest in October 2024 on charges of corruption and money laundering. Yet he is still running for a seat in parliament on the open list of the Democratic Party’s “Alliance for Glorious Albania” coalition.
The novelty in these elections is the prominent role of SPAK, whose creation and operations have been strongly backed by the United States and the EU. SPAK’s mandate—to investigate corruption, electoral crime, vote-buying, abuse of public office, and ties between organized crime and politics—directly targets the longstanding problems that have weakened Albania’s electoral integrity.
—Valbona Zeneli is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
What political dynamics are shaping Albania’s 2025 parliamentary elections?
Prime Minister Edi Rama enters this election with a twelve-year track record, positioning himself and the PS as the only modernizing political force equipped to bring Albania’s lengthy transition from communism to a close through EU accession. However, Rama’s party carries the weight of his long tenure, which has been marred by major corruption scandals at various levels of governance, along with economic difficulties stemming from the rising cost of living and deepening income inequality. Albania also continues to grapple with emigration and a rapidly aging population.
According to national polls, the PS currently holds a lead with more than 40 percent of projected votes, followed by the PD with 30 percent, and smaller shares going to the new parties. Due to the highly fragmented opposition vote and the regional proportional electoral system—which includes a single preferential vote that can distort results if opposition parties fail to win seats in multiple districts—projections indicate that the PS could once again secure a majority of at least seventy-one seats in parliament. Rama hopes to surpass the party’s previous result of seventy-four seats and move closer to a qualified majority of eighty-four seats. For the first time, Albanians living abroad have been granted the opportunity to vote. So far, more than 245,000 vote-by-mail requests from eighty-five countries have been registered. It remains to be seen how many of these will turn into actual ballots. Diaspora votes will be counted at the district level.
—Ilva Tare
There are no significant ideological differences between the PS and the PD on either domestic issues or foreign affairs. Their competition largely hinges on the personalities of their leaders and their historical patronage networks. Both parties are seeking to motivate their base and convince a small pool of independent voters that they can govern more effectively. Incumbency and political control over resources favor Rama, but after three terms in office, the flip side is deep fatigue and disillusionment. These elections are essentially a referendum on how tired Albanians are of Rama’s long rule and how motivated PS voters are to turn out. Meanwhile, Berisha is seen as too polarizing beyond the PD base, and the right is fractured.
Rama’s rule has brought about some transformative change, with public and private investments reshaping infrastructure, particularly in urban and coastal areas. This has fueled an unprecedented tourism boom and solid economic growth. Yet a widespread corruption and oligarchic control have sent most of the spoils to the well-connected, while wages have struggled to keep up with inflation and a sharp spike in the cost of living. On the issue of corruption, Albania’s new rule of law bodies—backed by the EU and the United States and created during Rama’s rule—have been shaking up the political landscape. There have been a series of indictments across the political spectrum, implicating powerful leaders on both the left and the right (including members of Rama’s inner circle and his rivals Berisha and Meta). This has created a paradoxical situation in which Rama is attempting to brush over corruption scandals while simultaneously taking credit for establishing SPAK, the institution responsible for uncovering them. Both camps seem uncomfortable discussing corruption directly, so the campaign focus has mostly been on cost of living and who can increase salaries the most.
—Agon Maliqi
How will the outcome of the election shape Albania’s EU ambitions?
As part of his alleged push for positive reform in the country, Rama is pulling out all the stops to accelerate Albania’s accession to the EU, with the ambitious goal of concluding accession talks with Brussels by 2027. If reelected, Rama will seek to maintain Albania’s reputation as a front-runner for EU accession in the Western Balkans, alongside Montenegro.
Indeed, EU membership is the flagship promise of the PS in this election. According to Rama, US President Donald Trump’s victory has created a unique geopolitical opportunity for Albania, as it has heightened European concerns about US disengagement—prompting the EU to accelerate integration efforts in the Western Balkans. Rama argues that this moment aligns the EU’s political will to expand with Albania’s readiness to meet technical and political criteria through a preferential negotiation path. That said, EU integration has never been a politically divisive issue in Albania. The only real debate concerns the pace of the process and which political actor is best suited to deliver it. Looking ahead, Albania might try to make the most of the current geopolitical moment—but the EU’s decisions on enlargement are likely to remain highly unpredictable in the coming years.
—Ilva Tare
This election will serve as a litmus test of Albania’s democratic maturity and could either advance or hinder its EU accession. In the past, Albanian elections have been marred by issues such as vote-buying, opaque political party financing, and allegations of organized crime influencing voter mobilization in certain regions. If the integrity of the election process is once again questioned, it could trigger a new wave of political instability that may jeopardize the EU accession path.
The most significant development in Albania in recent years has been the tangible progress in reforming the justice sector—one of the key requirements for the EU. After nearly a decade of restructuring and overhauling judicial institutions and introducing the vetting of prosecutors and judges, SPAK has made great strides in dismantling the culture of impunity that has long pervaded the country’s political class since the fall of communism. SPAK’s increasing prominence is helping restore public trust in rule of law. Indictments of former and current political leaders—prime ministers to mayors—as well as ongoing investigations into powerful organized crime figures have been pivotal in advancing Albania’s EU accession process. These efforts have positioned Albania alongside Montenegro as a regional frontrunner in the accession race. Whether this momentum can be sustained, and whether SPAK and other institutions can continue to scale their efforts, remains to be seen.
—Agon Maliqi
These elections will be pivotal not only for Albania’s EU integration but also for the broader stability of the Western Balkans. After years in the EU’s waiting room, Albania has gained fresh momentum, spurred by the new geopolitical urgency surrounding enlargement.
Edi Rama has centered the PS campaign on securing EU membership before 2030, positioning his administration as the only force capable of delivering the necessary reforms. While EU integration is not a divisive issue in Albania, internal political rifts and the lack of bipartisan consensus on key reforms have posed significant obstacles. Ultimately, these elections carry deep implications, not just for who governs, but for whether Albania’s parliament can foster the cross-party cooperation needed to advance EU membership and strengthen liberal democracy.
Albania’s upcoming elections take place within days of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, which will occur in Tirana from May 16 to 17. At the summit, European leaders will address enlargement, security, and stability in the Western Balkans, placing Albania in the center of both regional and European attention.
—Valbona Zeneli
What is the role of the United States in the election and its campaign?
The influence of “Trump World” has become a striking feature of Albania’s 2025 campaign landscape. Both Prime Minister Edi Rama and opposition leader Sali Berisha are invoking the US president in their campaigns—albeit for different purposes. Rama, who has traditionally aligned with European social democrats, is now publicly praising Trump as “good for everyone” and presenting Albania’s EU accession hopes as aligned with a second Trump presidency, emphasizing the new geopolitical reality that it has brought about.
Meanwhile, Berisha—who is banned from entering the United States over corruption allegations—has embraced the Trump playbook. The PD has hired Trump’s former campaign manager Chris LaCivita and adopted the slogan “Make Albania Great,” signaling a strategic pivot toward nationalism, anti-elite rhetoric, and culture-war themes designed to energize a disillusioned electorate.
The result is an election in which Trump’s legacy—his methods, his advisors, and his message—resonates far beyond US borders, influencing not only campaign strategies but also how candidates position Albania within a rapidly shifting global order.
—Ilva Tare
The United States has featured prominently in the current campaign as both camps have sought to project an image of being on good terms with the new US administration while also seeking to influence decision-making in Washington, DC, in their favor. Berisha—who was sanctioned by the Biden administration on allegations of corruption, a serious obstacle for a political career in a pro-US country and NATO member—has touted the hiring of a Trump campaign manager as his own campaign aide. The PD has reportedly also engaged lobbyists to reverse the sanctions against Berisha, which it claims were the result of left-wing lobbying. Meanwhile, Rama’s government has given preferential strategic investor status to a private company owned by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to develop a luxury resort on an Albanian island.
With many other priorities around the world, the United States appears largely disinterested in Albania—at least for now. Most importantly, voters in Albania also seem unlikely to be swayed by any of these moves by the political elite.
—Agon Maliqi
The United States is Albania’s most important strategic ally. While the US government maintains a neutral stance toward political parties in Albania, it has consistently supported democratic processes, institutional reforms, and anti-corruption efforts. Nevertheless, Albanian leaders often seek to leverage their US ties for personal or political gain, such as with the PD’s enlistment of Chris LaCivita as an advisor and its embrace of an anti-elite, nationalist “Make Albania Great” message—though so far, it has struggled to gain strong traction with voters.
—Valbona Zeneli
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