Parliamentary elections kicked off across Albania on Sunday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are nearly 3.6 million eligible voters for the elections, including those living overseas. They will cast ballots at more than 5,000 voting centers across the country to elect 140 parliament members.

Meanwhile, over 7,500 police officers will be on duty during the elections, according to the Albanian State Police.

Edi Rama, leader of the ruling Socialist Party and prime minister of the country for two consecutive mandates, is running for a third mandate and has declared that the Socialists alone will win 74-78 seats in the parliament.

However, in an interview with local media, Rama said that he will transfer "the burden" of the party's leadership to others in case the Socialists fail to win the required 71 seats.

On the other side, Lulzim Basha, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, who aspires to become the prime minster, said that people are tired of the "corrupted government, they want change" and that his party together with other opposition parties in the coalition will win.

Albanian President Ilir Meta, the first leader to vote on Sunday, cast his ballot at 7 a.m. local time in a voting center in Tirana.

"This is the day when every Albanian can vote for the party he believes in and fortunately in these elections they can also vote for the best candidate," Meta told reporters.

Brunilda, 42, who cast her vote in a voting center in Tirana, told Xinhua that she was unsatisfied with the current government and that she voted for a candidate representing one big opposition party.

A 68-year-old man named Agron said that he voted for the Socialist Party and was convinced that they will win.

"I gave my vote to the Socialist party. This government has done a great job with the vaccination process of the population against COVID-19. I believe they should win another mandate," Agron said.

Another citizen, Erinda, a 35-year-old lawyer, said that she voted for a small party, whose candidates are young and not corrupted.

The voting process is considered crucial for Albania as the Balkan country seeks to launch full membership negotiations with the EU later this year.

Over 23,000 Albanians currently positive with COVID-19 are prohibited from voting due to isolation requirements.

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Albania has decreased significantly over the past week, but health experts fear another wave with the holding of political rallies.

As of Saturday, more than 400,000 people have been vaccinated in Albania, according to the country's health ministry. 

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