, KU Leuven
The Albanian parliamentary elections of 25 April raised high hopes for the country’s progress towards democratisation and EU accession. They were the first elections held under the new electoral law, agreed upon by the ruling party and the opposition on 5 June.
The elections were also severely scrutinised by the EU, which has listed the adoption and implementation of the electoral reform in its 15 points conditions for the opening of Albania’s accession talks.
After two years of the opposition boycotting the parliament and refusing to participate in the 2019 local elections, these elections were a window of opportunity for the political actors to reset the way of doing politics as high polarization and mistrust have been dangerously embedded in the Albanian party system over the past decades.