Prime Ministers of Albania

Presence on a US sanctions list did not stop two politicians from significantly aiding Edi Rama's election triumph on Sunday.

The Socialist Party led by Prime Minister Edi Rama is ahead in most municipalities in the country after Sunday's local elections and has already won three, Kamza, Vora and Elbasan, where the voting took place electronically and the Central Election Commission was able to declare the results a few hours after polls closed.

A court in Albania decided on Saturday to detain until his trial an ethnic Greek mayoral candidate in the southern Albanian municipality of Himara, Fredi Beleri, after he was charged with vote-buying.

A Greek expatriate mayoral candidate in the southern Albanian municipality of Himara, Fredi Beleri, was arrested at midnight on Thursday by the Albanian police outside his business premises on suspicion of paying people for their votes, causing strong condemnation from officials in Athens.

Albania's Socialist Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has rejected opposition claims of blackmailing voters over access to government funds.

On Wednesday he said his threats to block funds to municipalities run by opposition mayors were a consequence of opposition leader Sali Berisha's designation by the US State Department as "being involved in significant corruption".

Albanian tourist revenues in Greece rose spectacularly by 157% last year compared to 2021 and by 33% compared to 2019, Greek Deputy Minister for Tourism Sofia Zacharaki said after attending "The Future of Environmental Sustainable Tourism in Albania" (FESTA) forum in Tirana on April 3-5.

Two organisations, Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute, on Monday released a technical report urging Albania to save an endangered bridge built in 1927 under Albania's first and last king. Zog.

Albanian PM Edi Rama and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak pledged that their two countries will cooperate on the migration issue during the framework of Rama's two-day visit to London.

The UK has complained that the number of Albanians arriving illegally in the UK has increased, and since then the country has taken several steps to tackle it.

Albania's opposition Democratic Party, which is riven by factions, will be able to run in the May local elections after all - after the Commission of Sanctions and Complaints, CSC, overturned an earlier decision of the Commissioner of Elections not to let it run.

The temporary resignation of the former leader of the opposition Democratic Party Lulzim Basha in March last year has prevented the party from registering for the May local elections.

This is because some key documents submitted to the Central Elections Commission, CEC, should have had his signature.