- TIRANA, Albania: Scores of buses are bringing Albanian opposition supporters to the capital Tirana to protest over a decision to add previously uncounted votes to the total in the election for the city’s mayor.
An election commission is counting ballots cast into the wrong ballot boxes during the May 8 election. An initial count showed opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama ahead by just 10 votes over Lulzim Basha, a former interior minister of the governing Democrat party.
The opposition is holding Saturday the fourth day of protests against “vote theft.” Prime Minister Sali Berisha has warned Rama against inciting violence.
An interim report of international observers says that the political intervention in the counting process has increased tension in the country.