ALBANIA’S ruling pro-EU Socialist Party held a commanding lead yesterday in the count for Sunday’s election, seen as crucial to accession to the bloc.

The Central Election Commission said that, with almost 60 per cent of the ballots counted, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists had won 49 per cent of the votes compared with 29 per cent for the opposition Democratic party of Lulzim Basha.

Election authorities said the count pointed to the Socialists winning 74 seats in Albania’s 140-member parliament.