Edi Rama set to win record fourth term as PM in Albania elections

Socialists sail towards victory with 94% of votes counted in poll seen as pivotal to country's hopes of joining EU

Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, looks to have sailed to victory in general elections after a near-complete vote count showed voters had returned him to power for an unprecedented fourth term.

With 94% of the ballots counted, Rama's party was leading the leftwing Socialists to a resounding win over Sali Berisha's centre-right Democratic party in a poll viewed as pivotal for the Balkan country's attempt to join the EU.