Albania is holding parliamentary elections, with both main political parties, having been at loggerheads for months,
agreeing that whatever the result they will present a united front in searching for EU membership.
Candidate status was awarded in 2014, but progress in major EU requirements, notably judicial reform of the deeply
corrupt system, has been glacial.
Prime Minister Edi Rama's ruling Socialists have promised greater oversight on election transparency after the
opposition boycotted parliament for three months complaining of voter manipulation, but the Interior Ministry is
investigating reports that hundreds of votes have been bought.
Lulzim Basha's Democratic Party, like Albania's other major parties, is campaigning on a platform of reforms,
promising faster growth, lower unemployment, and pay rises.
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