The CEC on Wednesday approved the recount decision following appeals from both the Socialist-led coalition and the Democrats of outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
The Socialist seek a recount in six polling stations, arguing that there are discrepancies between the number of voters and the large number of votes cast. Meanwhile the Democrats have sought a recount at ten polling stations, where tabulation forms for the vote count were not original but were photocopied.
The Socialist-led Alliance for a European Albania, headed by former Tirana mayor Edi Rama, secured a landslide victory at the polls, winning 83 of the 140 seats in parliament, having won 57.7 per cent of the national vote.
Berisha’s Democratic Party won only 30.6 per cent of the vote, 9.4 per cent less than it did in the last general elections in 2009.
The results represent one of the poorest showing for the Democrats since the party was founded in 1991, following student protests against the Communist regime.
The Socialist-led bloc won four mandates in Lezha and the Democratic Party coalition three. The Socialists need only 35 more votes to add an extra seat in the region, which now is held by the Democrats.
The region of Lezha saw the worst incident of the election, when a opposition supporter was killed and a Democratic Party candidate was injured in a shootout in the town of Lac on election day. Another person was wounded during the firefight.
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