Political parties in Albania failed to propose a candidate for Presidency

Albanian political parties failed Wednesday to propose any candidates for the country’s new president, forcing parliament to put off his or her election for a week.

The Socialists and the governing Democrats of Prime Minister Sali Berisha blamed each other for the failure to agree on an acceptable candidate.

Under the constitution, parliament must elect Albania’s president for a five-year term in a maximum five rounds of voting. Following the failure of the first round, the second must be held within a week, but the exact date has yet to be determined.