Albanians on Sunday started voting in parliamentary elections seen as a key test of the country's political maturity as it eyes European Union membership, The Associated Press reported. Voting started at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and is to end 7 p.m. (1500 GMT). Some 500 international observers and about 3,000 local officials will monitor Sunday's election. About 3.1 million Albanians are eligible to vote in some 4,800 polling stations in the country's seventh parliamentary election since the fall of communism in 1990. Voters will choose 140 lawmakers among 4,300 candidates of 34 political parties.
