Albanian politician killed in a car explosion ahead of general election

Albanian politician killed in car blast

TIRANA, Albania — A conservative politician was killed in a car explosion Thursday, 10 days ahead of Albania’s parliamentary election, police said.

Aleks Keka, a 34-year-old regional leader for the small conservative Christian Democratic Party, died in the blast while driving through Shkodra, a city 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of capital Tirana, police said.

Police spokesman Klodian Branko said the cause of the blast was not immediately known. Another man traveling in the car was hospitalized with injuries.

The Christian Democrats were until recently part of the governing coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Albanian electoral campaigns are often tense and marred by irregularities.

Last week, a man was fatally shot following an argument over a party campaign poster, and in May an opposition lawmaker was also killed.

A delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be monitoring the June 28 vote, in which the conservative Berisha will face a challenge from Edi Rama, the Socialist leader and mayor of Tirana.

Christian Democratic Party leader Nard Ndoka said he believed his colleague had been killed in a bomb attack.

“It was a great shock that such a calm and friendly person with such a good reputation was punished by the criminals,” Ndoka said, but did not elaborate.