Sali Berisha rejects responsibility as DP suffers historic collapse in 2025 elections
Photo: Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party (DP) of Albania is facing its worst electoral result in decades, with preliminary results from the May 11 parliamentary elections showing a dramatic decline in support. Despite the defeat, party leader Sali Berisha has refused to acknowledge any personal responsibility or announce his resignation, as required by the DP’s own statute.
Why this is important: According to the current results, the DP and its allies are expected to secure just 50 seats—down from 63 in the 2021 elections and the party’s worst showing since 1997, when Albania was engulfed in anarchy following the collapse of fraudulent pyramid schemes under DP rule. The outcome is even more damaging given that Berisha returned to the party leadership precisely to reverse the electoral underperformance seen during Lulzim Basha’s tenure. Instead, the results under Berisha are even lower, raising serious questions about his political future.
Context: Despite the crushing defeat, Berisha gave no indication he would resign, instead alleging widespread electoral manipulation. In a press conference, he claimed the Socialist Party had rigged the process through cash-for-vote schemes, cannabis licenses, and tax amnesties. However, no independent monitoring body or observer group has reported fraud or interference on a scale that could explain the DP’s collapse.
Berisha also avoided answering whether he would accept the results if verified by international partners. “The DP will do everything to protect the vote of Albanians,” he said. His stance follows a long pattern of rejecting unfavorable results—Berisha has only once recognized electoral defeat, in 2013.
What else: Under Article 46 of the DP statute, the party chair must resign immediately if the party fails to return to power in a general election. Despite this, Berisha has signaled no intention to step down.
Political observers warn that Berisha’s refusal to take responsibility risks deepening the party’s crisis. Without leadership change or a credible strategy to rebuild, the DP may continue on a path of internal fragmentation and declining public support.
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