Albania’s government works as a unitary parliamentary republic: a single 140-seat parliament makes the laws and picks the government, a prime minister and cabinet run the country day to day, a president represents the state in a mostly ceremonial role, and independent courts interpret the constitution and try cases. Power is separated among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and since 2022 the whole system has been reshaped by Albania’s negotiations to join the European Union.
The Constitution That Sets the Rules
The Constitution of 1998, approved by referendum on November 22 of that year and significantly amended in 2016, is the highest law of the republic. Article 4 declares it the supreme legal authority whose provisions apply directly unless the text says otherwise, and Article 7 builds the system of government on the separation and balancing of legislative, executive, and judicial powers.1Codices. Constitution of Albania
Because Albania is a unitary state, all governmental authority flows from the central government; local bodies exercise only the powers delegated to them. Amending the constitution requires a proposal from at least one-fifth of parliament’s members and approval by a two-thirds supermajority. Parliament may also send an amendment to a public referendum, and one-fifth of members can compel one.2Constitute Project. Albania 1998 (rev. 2016) Constitution
Parliament: The Kuvendi
The Kuvendi is Albania’s unicameral parliament and the country’s sole law-making body. It has 140 seats, and deputies serve four-year terms.3Inter-Parliamentary Union. Albania Kuvendi (Parliament) Beyond ordinary legislation, it approves the state budget, ratifies international treaties, elects the president, and oversees the executive through committee hearings and confidence votes. It can also amend the constitution, subject to the two-thirds rule, and declare a state of war.
The Kuvendi’s grip on the executive is tight. It can remove a sitting government through a constructive vote of no confidence: at least one-fifth of members propose the motion together with a replacement prime minister, and if a majority of all members votes in favor, the incumbent is replaced immediately.4Venice Commission. Albania Constitution The “constructive” requirement stops parliament from toppling a government without having a successor ready.
The Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Executive power sits with the Council of Ministers, led by the prime minister. After a general election, the president appoints a prime minister on the proposal of the party or coalition holding the parliamentary majority. If parliament rejects that choice, a further nomination process follows, and if it too fails, the president dissolves parliament and calls new elections.4Venice Commission. Albania Constitution
Once appointed, the prime minister presents the Council of Ministers and a governing program to parliament for approval within ten days. The Council directs domestic and foreign policy, issues regulations to implement laws, drafts the state budget, manages the public administration, and negotiates international agreements that do not require ratification. The constitution does not fix the number of ministers; the prime minister determines the cabinet’s size and structure.
The design keeps the executive tethered to the legislature. A prime minister who loses the Kuvendi’s confidence cannot govern, and the constructive no-confidence mechanism means the replacement process begins the moment the old government falls.
The President’s Ceremonial Role
The president is the head of state and represents the unity of the Albanian people, but the role is largely ceremonial. Day-to-day governance belongs to the prime minister. The president’s core function is ensuring that the constitution is respected and that state institutions operate in a coordinated way.
Parliament elects the president by secret ballot. In the first three rounds a candidate needs at least three-fifths of all members, or 84 out of 140. If no one clears that bar, the threshold drops to a simple majority of all members in the fourth and fifth rounds. If parliament still cannot elect a president after five rounds, it dissolves itself and new parliamentary elections must be held within 45 days.5CC Law. Constitution of the Republic of Albania
The Courts
Albania follows a civil law tradition. The ordinary judiciary has three tiers: district courts hear most civil and criminal cases at first instance, courts of appeal review district court decisions, and the Supreme Court (High Court) sits at the top, hearing final appeals on points of law.
Separate from the ordinary courts, the Constitutional Court reviews whether laws and government actions comply with the constitution. It has nine members: three appointed by the president, three elected by the Kuvendi, and three elected by the High Court. In each case, the Justice Appointments Council ranks candidates, and the appointing body selects from the top three.6Venice Commission. Albania Opinion on the Appointment of Judges to the Constitutional Court
Two self-governing councils insulate the judiciary from political pressure. The High Judicial Council manages the appointment, evaluation, discipline, and career progression of judges, and the High Prosecutorial Council does the same for prosecutors.7People’s Advocate. Law No. 115/2016 on Governance Institutions of the Justice System Both were created by the 2016 justice reform, which also imposed a mandatory re-evaluation, or “vetting,” of every sitting judge and prosecutor on the legitimacy of their assets, their personal integrity, and their professional competence.
The same 2016 package created the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime, known by its Albanian acronym SPAK. SPAK is an independent judicial body with its own prosecutors, investigators, and courts dedicated to high-level corruption and organized crime. Its Special Prosecution office brings cases, supported by the National Bureau of Investigation, and dedicated first-instance and appellate courts hear them. The structure keeps politically sensitive cases out of the ordinary court system, reducing the risk of interference.
How Elections Work
Albania’s 140 parliamentary seats are filled through elections held every four years across 12 electoral zones that correspond to the country’s administrative counties. Every citizen aged 18 or older may vote by secret ballot. The most recent parliamentary elections were held on May 11, 2025, with roughly 3.7 million registered voters, including those registered abroad to vote by post for the first time.8European Parliament. International Election Observation Mission Albania – Parliamentary Elections, 11 May 2025
The Electoral System
Ahead of the 2025 elections, Albania adopted a modified proportional system combining closed party lists with preferential voting. Under Law No. 81/2024, approved in July 2024, each party or coalition submits two lists of candidates in every electoral zone.9Venice Commission. Albania 2024 and 2025 Amendments to the Electoral Code The closed list has a fixed order set by the party, with candidates equal to one-third of the seats allocated to that zone. The preferential list is alphabetical and contains as many candidates as there are seats in the zone; voters mark their preferred individual on it.
A party must clear a one-percent nationwide threshold to qualify for seats in any zone. Once a party’s total seats in a zone are determined proportionally, those seats go first to candidates on the closed list in order, and any remaining seats are filled from the preferential list ranked by individual preference votes.8European Parliament. International Election Observation Mission Albania – Parliamentary Elections, 11 May 2025 Gender quotas require every third candidate on each list to belong to the less-represented gender.
The closed-list component has drawn criticism. OSCE observers found that the system “limits the impact of preferential voting, enabling the party leaders to retain significant control over parliamentary representation.”8European Parliament. International Election Observation Mission Albania – Parliamentary Elections, 11 May 2025
Major Political Parties
Two parties dominate Albanian politics. The Socialist Party (PS) is a center-left, social-democratic party that has held power continuously since 2013 under Prime Minister Edi Rama. It is the successor to the communist-era Party of Labour but has transformed into a pro-European governing force. The Democratic Party (PD) is the main center-right opposition, founded in 1990 as the first party to challenge communist rule and built around economic liberalism and Western integration. Smaller parties include the Socialist Movement for Integration, now rebranded as the Freedom Party, a center-left splinter from the PS that has historically served as a swing coalition partner, along with newer movements focused on anti-corruption and civic reform.
Local Government
Below the central government, Albania is divided into 12 counties and 61 municipalities. The current structure dates to a 2015 territorial reform that consolidated many smaller local units into fewer, more capable ones. Each municipality is led by a directly elected mayor and a municipal council. Counties serve mainly as administrative regions and as the electoral zones for parliamentary elections. Because Albania is a unitary state, local governments have no autonomous legislative power; their authority comes from what the central government delegates through law.
EU Accession and Ongoing Reform
Albania is an EU candidate country, and the accession process now drives much of the country’s institutional reform. Negotiations formally opened at the first Intergovernmental Conference in July 2022. Between October 2024 and November 2025, Albania opened negotiations on all six thematic clusters covering the full 33 negotiating chapters.10European Commission. Albania – Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood Opening chapters is the easier part; closing them requires Albania to show its laws and institutions meet EU standards in practice. The 2016 justice reform, the creation of SPAK, and the judicial vetting process were all undertaken largely to satisfy EU requirements on rule of law and anti-corruption. No official target date for membership has been set.