TIRANA (AFP) – A delay in the ballot count after legislative polls seen as crucial to Albania’s aspirations to join the EU sparked opposition claims of fraud Tuesday, after European election observers’ gave cautious praise for the voting process. The ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, which held …

TIRANA – Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s centre-right coalition held a slender lead Wednesday in the latest tally of votes after general elections, the electoral commission said. The alliance led by Berisha’s Democratic Party had garnered 46.81 percent of votes against 45.42 percent for a coalition headed by Tirana Mayor …

TIRANA, Albania – Preliminary results from Albania’s weekend parliamentary elections show the governing Democrats have won. But it is not clear whether Prime Minister Sali Berisha has secured the number of seats in parliament needed to govern on his own. With 98 percent of ballot boxes counted Wednesday, the Democratic …

Albania’s general election appeared headed for deadlock on Wednesday, with both the governing right-of-centre Democratic party and the opposition Socialists unable to win an outright majority in the 140-seat parliament. A long drawn-out counting process after Sunday’s vote went into its fourth day on Wednesday amid mounting tension over possible …

Ivo Sanader, the Croatian Prime Minister has called a press conference, currently underway, without offering any advance agenda. At the conference he announced his resignation and said that he was leaving politics for good. The main state television station, HTV reports that an unscheduled HDZ parliamentary association meeting was held …

Political deadlock and stalled reforms have forced the international community to postpone its decision to close the Office of the High Representative, OHR, media reported on Wednesday. “Today we have not made the decision about the closure of the OHR, or about the transition of the OHR,” Bosnia’s High Representative, …

With only a hundred ballot boxes still left to be counted, the right-of-centre coalition led by the Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha was running neck-and-neck with the opposition Socialists led by Tirana Mayor Edi Rama on Wednesday in Albania’s tightly fought parliamentary election. The process of counting the …

Macedonian opposition parties said the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Bocevski was a sign of the government’s inability to make progress with its European Union accession bid. Bocevski, in charge of EU relations, revealed no motives for his surprise move in his resignation letter sent on Tuesday to the …

The number of Romanian troops serving in peace missions abroad will number only 1,667 next year following the pullout of troops from Iraq, the country’s Supreme Defence Council, CSAT, decided on Tuesday. Romania today has 2,067 troops in operation theatres in Iraq and Afghanistan, but a 500-strong contingent will be …

Kosovo must pay a $231 million debt to the World Bank for loans obtained during the Yugoslav period, announced James Steinbery, US deputy secretary of state, on Tuesday. The debt, which was initially calculated to be $381 million, will be lowered by $150 million, which will be paid by the …