The counting is over, the Socialist Party (PS) secures a sweeping victory in 5 municipalities

No surprises emerged from the partial local elections held in five municipalities across the country. The Socialist Party (PS) emerged as the undisputed winner in Vlora, Berat, Cërrik, Mat, and Tepelena. The Democratic Party (PD) of Sali Berisha, which in these elections chose to hide behind independent candidates, suffered yet another defeat. Its candidates received very low results, and compared to the May 11 elections, DP has significantly shrunk in these five municipalities.

VLORA

Vlora was the first municipality to announce results, recording the lowest voter turnout only 12.5% of eligible voters. The new mayor will be former MP Brunilda Mersini, who, under the SP banner, achieved a sweeping victory with 78% or 15,672 votes.

The only “competition” in Vlora was between the two opposition-backed independent candidates for second place. The independent candidate supported by DP and its allies received 2,333 votes (11.68%), while the DP councilor who ran independently got 1,975 votes (9.88%), a narrow difference of just 358 votes. Compared to May 11, DP dropped by 13.52% in this municipality (from 25.2%), while SP grew by 19%.

CËRRIK

A similar situation unfolded in Cërrik, where SP won with 66.22%. The candidate Florenc Doka secured 6,201 votes 4,313 more than the DP-backed independent candidate Amarildo Hoxha, who received 1,888 votes. Eligert Hima from Shqipëria Bëhet came third with 1,275 votes. Compared to the May 11 results, SP grew by 6.72%, while DP shrank by 9.14%.

BERAT

The gap was overwhelming in Berat, where the Socialist candidate won with 13,050 votes (83.35%) against PD-backed Pavlo Shkarpa, who received 2,607 votes (16.65%). Compared to May 11, SP increased by 28%, while DP declined by 16.75%.

TEPELENA

A similar picture appeared in Tepelena, where for the first time, vote counting was conducted both manually and with Artificial Intelligence. SP candidate, former military officer Gramos Sako, won with 77.85% (3,261 votes). The DP-backed 26-year-old candidate Gabriel Guma received only 928 votes. Compared to May 11, SP rose by 9.5%, while DP dropped by about 1%.

MAT

The only northern municipality holding elections, Mat, was also won by the Socialists. Altin Bojniku of SP secured 7,425 votes (66.54%), while DP-backed independent Eduart Brahilika received 3,184 votes (28.54%). Suzana Pasha, a former socialist who ran independently against her own party, got 549 votes (4.92%). Compared to May 11, DP fell by 8.16%, while SP grew by 7.34%.

In total, only 18.45% of the 334,539 registered voters cast their ballots across the five municipalities. The highest turnout was recorded in Mat (39.36%), followed by Tepelena (34.63%), Cërrik (25%), and Berat (19.98%). The lowest turnout was in Vlora, the largest municipality in these partial elections where only 12.54% voted.

“KORÇA BOOM”