Parliamentary elections were held in Albania on 21 April 1921,Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel,

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Klaus Landfried (1978) ''Die Wahl Der Parlamente Und Anderer Stattsorgane: Band I Europa: Erster Halbband'', Walter De Gruyter, p59 the first elections in the country's history.

Background

Following a national congress in January 1920, a 37-member National Council was formed. On 24 November 1920, 18 members of the Council resigned and called for elections to a new parliament. The government subsequently approved the decision to hold elections on 14 December.

Electoral system

The elections were held on an indirect, two-stage basis. In the first round, voting was restricted to men aged over 20, who elected one elector for each 500 registered voters by

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. Four weeks later, the electors assembled in the main town of each district to elect the 78 members of parliament.

Results

The Progressive Party led by

Shefqet Vërlaci Shefqet bey Vërlaci (; 15 December 1877, Elbasan, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 21 July 1946, Zürich, Switzerland), also known as Shevket Verlaci, was an Albanian politician and wealthy landowner. Biography In 1922, Vërlaci was the b ...

and Popular Party led by

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

and

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (also called Louis Gurakuchi; 19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925) was an Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honoured with the People's Hero of Albania medal. Bi ...

won around the same number of seats.Miranda Vickers (2011)
The Albanians: A Modern History
', pp69–70

Aftermath

Following the elections, a number of unstable factions were formed in the newly-elected Parliament, resulting in several government crises.

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', pp125–128 A new government was formed by incumbent Prime Minister

Iliaz Vrioni Ilias Bey, bej Vrioni (1 January 1882 – 12 March 1932) was an Albanians, Albanian politician and landowner. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence and served as Prime Minister of Albania three times. Biograp ...

in May, but he remained in office only until October, when he was replaced by

Pandeli Evangjeli Pandeli Evangjeli (6 January 1859 – 14 September 1949) was an Albanian politician who served two terms as the 7th Prime Minister of Albania. He was the first Orthodox Christian to head the Albanian government. Early life and career Born in ...

, who lasted less than two months. Evangjeli's successor

Hasan Prishtina Hasan bey Prishtina ( tr, Priştineli Hasan Bey, Hasan Bey Priştine and ''Vulçitrnli Hasan Bey''), originally known as Hasan Berisha (27 September 1873 – 13 August 1933), was an Ottoman, later Albanian politician, who served as the 8th Prime ...

was in office for just five days, after which Idhomen Kosturi took over as Acting Prime Minister for 12 days before

Xhafer Ypi Xhafer bey Ypi ( January 12, 1880, Starje – December 17, 1940) was an Albanians, Albanian politician. A member of the Ypi dynasty of Albania, he was educated at a university in Istanbul. In 1920–1921 he was Political minister, Minister of Inte ...

succeeded him. In December 1922,

Ahmet Zogu Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's y ...

was able to form a stable government.

References

{{Albanian elections Parliamentary elections in Albania 1921 in Albania

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...