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TIRANA: Albanians face a tense wait for results of Sunday's closely fought general elections that passed off smoothly, a crucial improvement in a country where violence has marred post-communist polls.
Exit polls from various media outlets gave a slight lead to the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
With tensions running high due to the tight finish, the two rival leaders vying for power, Berisha and his Socialist opponent Edi Rama, called for calm among supporters until first results are announced.
"There are no losers or winners in these elections, because a European Albania is a country for all Albanians," Berisha said shortly after polling stations closed at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT).
Although his opposition Socialists had complained Sunday of irregularities during the vote, Rama said the process was "democratic and normal".
But the official vote count was yet to start as ballot boxes must be transported to regional electoral commission premises where cameras have been installed in a move aimed at ensuring transparency.
Commission spokesman Leonard Olli said the count would start as late as midnight (2200 GMT) and that it would take at least 10 hours before partial results can be known.
Preliminary official results are due to be announced at a media conference at 5 pm (1500 GMT) on Monday.
Around 3.1 million voters were eligible for the election seen as crucial for the European future of the Balkan state.
It comes almost three months after Albania joined the NATO military alliance and took its first steps towards joining the EU by filing for membership.
Opinion polls had shown the race was too close to call between the governing Democratic Party of Berisha and Rama's opposition Socialist Party.
This was the seventh election since the collapse of the country's Stalinist regime in 1991, with some 4,000 candidates vying for 140 parliament seats.
All previous elections in the post-communist era have been disputed and sullied by violence.
The electoral commission said Sunday's vote passed off normally, with a turnout of between 40 and 45 per cent by 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) in various towns throughout the country.
But the Socialists alleged "intimidation of voters by people from the Democratic Party and problems with voter registers," although the Democrats brushed this off and hailed the poll as "calm and correct".
Casting his ballot earlier at a Tirana school, Berisha said: "With these elections, which will be free and fair, Albanians will sign (their support) for the European project."
Rama, the mayor of Tirana, said: "The vote is the only possibility to make history and today every Albanian has such an opportunity."
President Bamir Topi said the vote "will show the world our country wants to consolidate democracy in order for Albanians to be able to circulate freely through Europe, with which Albania is determined to integrate."
Richard Bosch of elections watchdog the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told AFP there had been fewer problems than in previous elections.
But even ahead of the vote, some incidents were registered, with three people killed during campaigning -- including the murder in early May of Socialist deputy Fatmir Xhindi.
Scrutinised by 3,000 observers, the poll was held in accordance with a new electoral law adopted at the request of the EU and the wider international community.
But despite the changes, the results were expected to be strongly contested by the losers. That would likely cause a delay of several months in the formation of a cabinet.
Analysts estimated neither the Democrats nor the Socialists will be able to obtain the necessary 71-seat majority in the parliament.
That means former prime minister Ilir Meta, leader of the opposition Movement of Socialist Integration, could play a decisive role with an estimated four percent of the vote.
- AFP/yt
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