Albanian local elections, 2007

Local elections were held in Albania on 18 February, 2007. They came after threats to boycott the elections by opposition parties because of concerns over fraudulent voting rolls; because of this, the elections were rescheduled from 20 January 2007 to the new date on very short notice, a move which was criticised by observers. The elections were seen as crucial to the future of Albanian integration with the European Union. ^{[http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/01/15/feature-02]}

The leftist opposition, led by Edi Rama's Socialist Party of Albania, emerged as the victor of the elections, winning in the majority of the 384 municipalities, including the major cities of Tirana, Durrës, Fier, Elbasan, Korçë, Berat, Gjirokastër and Vlorë; the only major city won by the rightist government was Shkodër. Despite improvements, observers from the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union criticised that "shortcomings in the preparation and conduct of these elections reflect the need for improved cross-party co-operation to fulfill Albania's international commitments". ^{[http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_15157-Leftist-Opposition-Wins-In-Albanias-Marred-Local-Polls.html]}