
The voting process has closed in the 5 municipalities that held by-elections today to elect a new mayor.
334,539 thousand voters in the municipalities of Vlora, Berat, Cërrik, Mat, Tepelena had the right to vote and express their free will, while the voting centers opened at 07:00, although there were delays in some of them.
Referring to the definition in the electoral code, when the election date is set in the election period from October 15 to November 15, polling stations close at 6:00 PM.
In Vlora, the number of citizens who could vote in 232 polling centers was 171,895. In Tepelena, there were 12,667 citizens with the right to vote, in 22 polling centers.
In Mat, there were 29,092 citizens with the right to vote, while the centers where they could vote were 47. In Cërrik, there were 57 voting centers, and the number of voters was 38,724.
In the municipality of Berat, 82,161 voters had the right to vote, who could vote in 116 polling centers.
Meanwhile, Chief Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi, speaking to the media, said that the age group that participated the most in these elections are those over 65 years old, while an 'abandonment' of the ballot boxes by young people is being observed.
Meanwhile, the Vlora region results in the lowest number of voters compared to the other 4 municipalities, with approximately 13%. Meanwhile, Mati had the highest participation, with approximately 40%.
There were 13 candidates in the race to replace the 5 elected mayors, deputies, or ministers, as in the case of Andis Salla of Cerrik.
The campaign for these by-elections passed without much noise or protagonism. There were no rallies or electoral meetings attended by the leaders of the main parties.
Unlike other times, the Democratic Party did not have candidates registered under its own logo or any other opposition party, although they have de facto expressed support for several independent candidates in this race.