Democratic Party of Albania

The Democratic Party of Albania (Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë) (PDSH or PD) is a political party in Albania.

History

The party was established to oppose the Communist regime.

The party fragmented in 2021 under leadership of Lulzim Basha. After the party lost a 4th consecutive election, a faction led by Sali Berisha attempted to remove him as chair. Concurrently, Berisha had been informally accused of corruption by the United States and declared persona non grata. Basha resigned in 2022, at which point Berisha became the effective chair (although not officially until the following year). The power struggle then moved into legal appeals and party list expulsions, which ultimately drew more influential party figures like Gazment Bardhi into Berisha's faction.

Policies

The party is pro-European and advocates for admission to the EU.

The party also advocated admission to NATO, which was achieved in 2009 under Sali Berisha.

Albania effectively has a two-party system, in which PD is the conservative rival to the PS.

Leadership

CategoryRicottone