One person died and two were injured Sunday in an exchange of gunfire close to a polling station in Albania, police said, as the country held crucial elections already marred by a dispute that could leave the result up in the air and the country without a government, AP reported. Both Conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his close rival, Socialist leader Edi Rama, have hopes for eventual entry to the European Union, but the bloc has expressed concern over whether the country can manage to run fair and free elections. Police spokesman Tefik Sulejmani said that Gjon Gjoni, 53, died after being shot in an exchange of fire with Mhill Fufi, 49, a candidate for Berisha's governing Democratic Party, in the town of Lac, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) northwest of the capital Tirana. Fufi and another person were injured. Sulejmani said the shooting started with an argument, but gave few other details. Rama postponed voting to head to Lac. Some 3.3 million registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the eighth national polls since the fall of communism in 1990. Because of a battle over the country's election commission, it is uncertain when results will be announced, though the law mandates they be revealed no later than three days after the vote.
