TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian electoral officials say the left-wing Socialist Party has secured its third consecutive mandate in a parliamentary election, winning nearly one in two votes and enough seats in parliament to govern alone. The Central Election Commission said Tuesday that with 97% of the ballots from Sunday’s voting counted, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists had won 49% of the vote and 74 of parliament’s 140 seats. The main opposition center-right Democratic Party got 39% of the ballots and 59 seats. Thousands of Socialist supporters gathered in Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square Tuesday to celebrate the victory, defying pandemic restrictions. Rama addressed the flag-waving crowd.
