Elections in Albania
Elections in Albania consist of parliamentary elections and local elections for the mayors and municipal councils of Albania's 61 municipalities; they are mandated by the Constitution and legislation enacted by Parliament and operated by the Central Election Commission (KQZ). The Parliament has 140 members elected for four-year terms. The president is elected by parliament.
The Electoral Code is the primary law regulating both elections and referendums. It is adopted and amended by the parliament with a three-fifths supermajority. For general elections, legislation currently makes provision for proportional representation with partially open lists. A national electoral threshold of 1% is applied. For the first time in 2025, the diaspora residing outside of Albania were allowed to vote by mail.
Albania has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and several other parties that are electorally successful. According to international observers, vote buying and institutional influence, among others, persist as problems in Albanian elections, despite improvements over the years.
Current Electoral Code (2024)
On 26 July 2024, the Parliament of Albania approved a set of amendments to the country's Electoral Code, which were implemented in the 2025 parliamentary elections. The amendments were passed with 106 votes in favor, 2 against, and no abstentions, during the final session of the 2021–2025 legislature.Mixed Electoral Lists
The reform introduced a hybrid electoral system combining closed and open lists:- One-third of each party’s candidate list will be closed—determined solely by party leadership and not subject to preferential voting.
- Two-thirds of the list will be open, allowing voters to cast preferential votes for individual candidates.
- Parties are required to submit two separate lists to the Central Election Commission : a fixed list and an open list.
Diaspora Voting
For the first time, Albanian citizens residing abroad will be able to participate in parliamentary elections:- Voting will take place by mail.
- Eligible voters must register electronically with the CEC and provide documentation confirming their residence outside Albania. They will be deregistered from the normal voting registry and added in another diaspora list.
- Returned ballots must arrive at the CEC no later than the close of polls on election day and will be counted toward the voter’s last place of residence in Albania.
Gender Quota
The amendments also reinforced gender representation rules:- At least one in every three elected candidates must belong to the less-represented gender.
- This requirement applies to both the closed and open portions of the candidate lists.
- If the results of preferential voting do not meet the gender quota, candidate rankings may be adjusted during the mandate allocation process to ensure compliance.
Seat Distribution
The country is divided into 12 multi-member constituencies, corresponding to its administrative regions. Seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method, a highest averages method for allocating seats proportionally among party lists.The D'Hondt method operates by dividing the number of votes each party receives by a series of divisors to allocate seats in each constituency. While this system aims to reflect the proportion of votes received, it can result in a higher threshold for smaller parties to gain representation, especially in constituencies with fewer seats.
The 2024 amendments established a national electoral threshold of 1% for political parties to gain representation in the parliament, reducing it from a previous 3% for parties and 5% for coalitions. This means that political parties must secure at least 1% of the total national vote to be eligible for seat allocation. This adjustment aimed to enhance the inclusivity of the electoral system, allowing smaller parties a better chance to enter parliament.
Legal Challenge and Criticism
In May 2025, a group of smaller opposition parties filed a case with the Constitutional Court of Albania, challenging the constitutionality of the one-third closed list provision. They argued that the reform restricts electoral competitiveness and consolidates power within party leadership structures, allegedly violating constitutional guarantees of equal electoral participation.Compared to the 2021 parliamentary elections, where only 3 out of 140 MPs were elected through preferential voting, the new system places an estimated 40 mandates in direct competition among candidates. However, in practice, the open list system primarily applies with larger parties.
Only parties that secure enough votes to elect more than one-third of their candidate list can effectively utilize the open list mechanism. This scenario predominantly applies to the ruling Socialist Party and, to a lesser extent, the main opposition Democratic Party. Smaller parties do not meet this threshold, rendering the open list provision redundant for them. Some smaller parties are trying to sidestep this limitation by having only placeholder candidates in the closed lists who will resign their seats when elected, to pave the way for the open list candidates.
History
On 31 March 1991, the first pluralist elections were held in the country. The elections were conducted with a clean majority system in 250 constituencies. 98.2% of voters took part in the voting. The participating parties registered a total of 1,074 candidates while 17 of the candidates were independent. The final election results declared the Labor Party the winner with 56.17% of the vote. The Democratic Party won 38.71% of the vote, the Republican Party 1.77%, the Omonia Organization 0.73%, the Agrarian Party 0.07% and the Veterans Committee 0.28%. With a 250-seat parliament, the results were translated into 169 deputies for the Labor Party, the Democratic Party 75 deputies, Omonia 5 deputies and the Veterans Committee 1 deputy. The Democratic Party achieved high results and received a larger number of deputies compared to the Labor Party in the main cities such as: Durrës, Shkodër, Tirana. Whereas in Krujë and Vlorë the number of deputies of the two major parties was equal. This was considered a great victory for the DP given that the communist party that had ruled the country for about 50 years still continued to have strong control over the population, especially in those living in rural areas and still doubting that the dictatorship would fall.On 8 May 2000, the Albanian Parliament approved the Electoral Code only with the votes of the Socialists, which had an overwhelming majority in the assembly that emerged from the 1997 elections. The Democratic Party rejected the Electoral Code in its entirety due to the composition of the Central Election Commission of 6 members. They boycotted his approval in parliament even though he had attended most of the roundtables organized for the debate over the Electoral Code. According to the new Electoral Code, voting in Albania would be based on a mixed, majority-proportional electoral system. From where 100 deputies, in the 140-seat parliament, would be elected by majority vote from single-member constituencies, while 40 seats were filled by national multi-member lists of political parties in order to achieve a proportional approach between nationally received votes and deputies which represented a political party in the assembly. To win a proportional mandate, political parties had to cross the 2.5% electoral threshold, while coalitions had to cross the 4% threshold.
Presidential elections
The election of the president of Albania is regulated by the constitution of Albania, particularly outlined in the fourth part, comprising articles 86 to 94. To be eligible for candidacy, individuals must fulfill several criteria as delineated in the constitution: they must be Albanian citizens by birth, have resided in Albania for no less than the past 10 years, be at least 40 years of age, and possess the right to vote. The constitution mandates that the president shall not occupy any other public office, be affiliated with any political party, or engage in private business activities. The electoral process commences with the parliament of Albania, which is responsible for scheduling elections at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the incumbent term of the president. Candidates are nominated through a formal process in which a group of at least 20 members of the total 140 members of the parliament may propose an individual for the presidency.The election is conducted by the parliament through a secret ballot without debate, requiring a candidate to secure a majority of three-fifths of all members of the parliament. If this majority is not achieved in the first ballot, a second ballot is held within seven days, followed by a third ballot if necessary. If no candidate receives the required majority after the third ballot, a fourth ballot occurs within seven days, limited to the two candidates with the highest votes from the previous round. If neither candidate secures the necessary majority in the fourth ballot, a fifth ballot is conducted. If, after the fifth ballot, neither candidate achieves the required majority, the parliament is dissolved, necessitating subsequent parliamentary elections within 60 days. The successive elected parliament is then responsible for electing the president according to the procedures regulated in the constitution. Further, if the parliament fails to elect a president, it correspondingly will be dissolved, requiring another round of general elections within the same period.
The president begins their duties after taking an oath before the parliament, affirming their commitment to uphold the constitution and laws of Albania, respect the rights and freedoms of citizens, protect the independence of the nation, and serve the general interest and progress of the Albanians. The term of office for the president is defined at five years, with the possibility of re-election for a maximum of two consecutive terms. In the event that a president resigns before the end of their term, they are prohibited from being a candidate in the subsequent presidential election. When the president is temporarily unable to exercise their functions or if the office becomes vacant, the [Speaker of the Parliament of Albania|Parliament of Albania|speaker of the parliament of Albania] assumes the responsibilities of the president. If the president is unable to fulfill their duties for more than 60 days, the parliament must decide, by a two-thirds majority, whether to refer the issue to the constitutional court. The court determines the incapacity of the president, and if incapacity is confirmed, the election of a successive president must commence within 10 days of such determination.
Parliamentary elections
List
This is a list of parliamentary elections in Albania from the year 1921 till present day. Direct presidential elections have not been held.| ' | ' | ' | ' | ' | ' |
| 1 | National Council | 5 April 1921 | 65 | ||
| 2 | Constitutional Assembly | 27 December 1923 | 95 | ||
| 3 | Deputies Chamber - Senate | 17 May 1925 | 49/16 | ||
| 4 | Constituent Assembly/Parliament | 17 August 1928 | 49 | ||
| 5 | Parliament | 11 November 1932 | 54 | ||
| 6 | Parliament | 31 January 1937 | 57 | ||
| 7 | National Assembly/Parliament | 1 October 1943 | 193 | ||
| 8 | Constitutional Assembly/People's Assembly | 2 December 1945 | 101 | 603,566 | 89.9 |
| 9 | People's Assembly | 28 May 1950 | 116 | 641,241 | 99.4 |
| 10 | People's Assembly | 30 May 1954 | 129 | 702,476 | 99.9 |
| 11 | People's Assembly | 1 June 1958 | 180 | 788,250 | 100 |
| 12 | People's Assembly | 3 June 1962 | 210 | 889,875 | 100 |
| 13 | People's Assembly | 10 July 1966 | 234 | 978,161 | 100 |
| 14 | People's Assembly | 20 September 1970 | 261 | 1,097,123 | 100 |
| 15 | People's Assembly | 6 October 1974 | 238 | 1,248,530 | 100 |
| 16 | People's Assembly | 12 November 1978 | 250 | 1,436,289 | 100 |
| 17 | People's Assembly | 14 November 1982 | 250 | 1,627,968 | 100 |
| 18 | People's Assembly | 1 February 1987 | 250 | 1,830,653 | 100 |
| 19 | Constitutional Assembly | 31 March 1991 | 250 | 1,977,516 | 98.6 |
| 20 | People's Assembly | 22 March 1992 | 130 | 2,021,169 | 90.4 |
| 21 | People's Assembly | 26 May 1996 | 140 | 2,204,002 | 89.1 |
| 22 | Assembly | 29 June 1997 | 150 | 1,947,235 | 72.6 |
| 23 | Assembly | 24 June 2001 | 135 | 2,499,238 | 53.6 |
| 24 | Assembly | 3 July 2005 | 140 | 2,850,821 | 48.0 |
| 25 | Assembly | 28 June 2009 | 140 | 3,084,946 | 50.8 |
| 26 | Assembly | 23 June 2013 | 140 | 3,271,885 | 53.5 |
| 27 | Assembly | 25 June 2017 | 140 | 3,452,324 | 46.8 |
| 28 | Assembly | 25 April 2021 | 140 | 3,588,869 | 46.3 |
| 29 | Assembly | 11 May 2025 | 140 | 3,713,897 | 44.8 |