A referendum on restoring the monarchy was held in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 29 June 1997 alongside

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. The proposal was rejected by 66.7% of voters. However, former

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Leka claimed that 65.7% voted in favour.

Results

Reactions

The

House of Zogu The House of Zogu, or Zogolli during Ottoman Albania, Ottoman times and until 1922, is an Albanian people, Albanian dynastic family whose roots date back to the early 20th century. The family provided the first president and the short-lived modern ...

never accepted the official result of the referendum. After the publication of the result by the

Central Election Commission of Albania The Central Election Commission (, KQZ), abbreviated in English as , is the permanent, independent, non-partisan election commission responsible for conducting parliamentary and local elections in the Republic of Albania. It also regulates an ...

, during the

1997 rebellion in Albania In 1997, Albania experienced widespread civil unrest due to economic problems caused by the collapse of pyramid schemes. The large sums of money siphoned from the government to fund these schemes led to the collapse of the Democratic Party's ...

, Leka returned again, this time being greeted by 2,000 supporters. After a recount it was announced that the restoration was rejected by approximately two-thirds of those voting. The former Crown Prince questioned the independence of the election. Police intervened, gunfire broke out, one person was killed, and Leka fled. On 30 November 2011, the former crown prince died, his son (Leka II) succeeding him as pretender to the defunct throne. That month, Prime Minister

Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...

questioned whether there was vote manipulation in the referendum, stating that "The referendum was held under the flares of a communist rebellion and cannot be considered a closed issue."

References

{{Albanian elections

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

1997 Albanian civil unrest Referendums in Albania Albanian monarchy Monarchy referendums Leka, Crown Prince of Albania