1923 Albanian parliamentary election explained

Country:Principality of Albania
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:1921
Next Election:1925
Seats For Election:All 102 seats in the Assembly
Majority Seats:52
Election Date:November–December 1923
Nopercentage:yes
First Election:yes
Party1:Zogu faction
Colour1:
  1. FFFF05
Leader1:Ahmed Zogu
Seats1:44
Party2:Opposition
Colour2:
  1. 67BB31
Seats2:39
Party3:Independents
Leader3:
Seats3:19
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after the election
Before Election:Ahmet Zogu
After Election:Ahmet Zogu

Constituent Assembly elections were held in Albania in November and December 1923,[1] [2] with the second round taking place on 27 December.

Background

During 1923 tensions had been building between religious groups, with Christians unhappy at former Ottoman officials continuing to take advantage of their position and taxes from the wealthier Christian parts of the country subsidising a government led by the Muslim Ahmet Zogu.[3] Following several political assassinations, in August Zogu agreed to a Constituent Assembly being elected later in the year.[3]

Results

Zogu's faction won 44 seats and opposition candidates 39. The 19 independent candidates, most of whom were conservative, gave their support to Zogu, allowing him to form a government.[4]

However, opposition parties alleged there had been electoral fraud, claiming that their strong performance in the first round of voting should have led to them winning a majority in the second round.[4] The Dielli newspaper reported that the government had terrorised the electors into voting for their candidates.[4]

Aftermath

The new parliament convened for the first time on 21 January 1924.[5] Although Zogu was narrowly re-elected as Prime Minister, he resigned two weeks later, allowing Shefqet Vërlaci to become head of government.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Kosta Barjaba 2004) Albania's Democratic Elections, 1991-1997: Analyses, Documents and Data, p28
  2. Robert Elsie (2010) Historical Dictionary of Albania p105
  3. Miranda Vickers (2011) The Albanians: A Modern History, pp73–74
  4. Robert Clegg Austin (2012) Founding a Balkan State: Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925, University of Toronto Press, pp36–37
  5. https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/albania-1913-present/ 13. Albania (1913-present)