The Socialists of Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and the ex-president Sali Berisha's opposition Democrats both declared victory late Sunday, hours after the voting ended in parliamentary elections. A Socialist spokesman said that the party has claimed up to 71 per cent of the 100 seats that are directly allocated. At the same time, Berisha also spoke of a "convincing victory" for his Democratic Party, according to dpa. The declarations of victory came despite President Alfred Moisiu's appeal on the parties for restraint until the official results come through. Neither election authorities nor independent sources have yet made any official announcements. The 2.9 million voters could have voted to elect 100 deputies directly, and 40 more from party tickets. Unreliable pre-election surveys and a complex electoral system could produce surprises, foreign diplomats said earlier. --SP 2309 Local Time 2009 GMT
