Albania votes in local elections, June 30

 Edi Rama and his wife Linda Rama voting on local elections - June 30

 Today in Albania are being held the local elections to vote for the new mayors of the municipalities. In these 30 years of democracy, these are the first elections where the largest opposition party - Democratic Party (DP) - does not participate in these elections. DP and SMI have boycotted this electoral race.

An unusual elections day, following a series of institutional clashes between the government, the opposition and the president. In this situation, which was accompanied by violence in some DP-run municipalities, internationals who unanimously condemned the violence, held strong positions supporting the elections taking place today, ignoring thus the decrees of the Albanian President Ilir Meta - the first was the cancelation of the voting day (June 30) and the second for setting October 13 as a date for the locals.

In 61 municipalities the citizens are beginning to vote for their mayors in local elections, though these elections are being held without major opposition parties in the country. These polls are being held in unusual conditions, with high-security measures by police forces and deeply divided among all political actors in Albania.