Albanian parliament fails to elect a president in 1st vote

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian Parliament has failed to elect the country’s next president after no candidates were nominated for the first round of voting. Neither the governing left-wing Socialist Party, nor the opposition or any independent candidate could be nominated. The vote on Monday was still considered done. Candidates are proposed by a group of at least 20 lawmakers in the 140-seat parliament. The parliament may hold five rounds to elect the president. In the first three rounds,  the winner should get at least 84 votes while in the last two a winner must reach 71 votes. The five-year presidency has a largely ceremonial role, generally understood to be apolitical.