29 beat 44, but only by combining with 35

by Davidi

Albania purchased a multi-million dollar computer voting system for this year's national elections. They didn't use it. Seems the computer voting system only has room to list 45 political parties. There were 66 parties on the ballot.

Like many Europeans, Albanians vote for parties, rather than people.  (The parties tell you in advance who they have picked to represent your area if they win, but only the party is on the ballot.).  It's pretty easy to register a political party in Albania, so, if you don't like the ones you see, you can you can always start your own.  Some rich folks have decided that starting their own party is their best chance to win a seat in parliament, so they have.

Take a look at the candidate on the campaign postcard below.  He's from a minor party, number 56.  It's not surprising  that he chose to be pictured holding an Albanian flag.  But wait!  How many flags do you see in the photo?  What's our flag doing hiding back  there?  Looks like he is giving the message that the US is behind him, or perhaps that he will lead Albania towards being more like the US.   Either way, party 56 didn't win.  Party 29 beat incumbent party 44, but only by joining forces with party 35.

The election was hotly contested and the campaigning was non-stop. There were signs, banners over the streets, cars with loudspeakers, parades and rallies.  We could see fireworks from the rallies from our balcony.  (The Embassy told us not to go near any rallies, for fear of looking like the US was taking sides in the election). 

We will be reminded of the election for a long time.  That's because the parties sent out legions of guys with spray paint to stencil party logos on every piece of exposed concrete they could find.  The real legacy is better:  Albania, the newest democracy in Europe, had the most free and fair election they have ever had.