Socialist Party prepares for diaspora vote ahead of May elections

One week before the official registration period begins for Albanian emigrants to vote in the May 11 parliamentary elections, the Socialist Party (SP) has already compiled a detailed register of diaspora voters. Prime Minister Edi Rama convened the Socialist Party leadership earlier this week, bringing together political representatives from all 12 regions of the country, along with a special coordinator for diaspora outreach. Socialist mayors also joined the meeting virtually.

Why is this important:  With an estimated 1.7 million Albanians living abroad, the diaspora vote could be a decisive factor in the upcoming elections. The Socialist Party, in power for almost 12 years, has already contacted thousands of Albanian emigrants through phone calls to gauge their voting preferences. According to preliminary data, more than 200,000 of those contacted have expressed their intention to vote for the Socialist Party.

Context: In a strategic move just five months before the elections, Prime Minister Rama has decided to reshuffle key political coordinators. Notably, former Prime Minister and longtime SP figure Pandeli Majko has been replaced as the coordinator for the Kukës region by Eduard Shalsi, a close collaborator of Rama for over two decades and former Minister for Entrepreneurship.

The reshuffle highlights the importance of Kukës in the upcoming elections, despite the region’s traditionally strong ties to the opposition. Kukës, with just three parliamentary seats, has a high number of emigrants, primarily residing in the United Kingdom. Under new electoral rules, emigrant votes will be counted in the regions they originally resided in before leaving Albania. While the Socialist Party has held the Kukës municipality for two consecutive terms, the area’s historical alignment with the right-wing opposition makes it a challenging battleground.

The Socialist Party’s early mobilization of diaspora voters underlines the significance of the May elections, where the party is seeking to leverage its extended outreach and strategic reshuffling to maintain its long-standing grip on power.