Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama was on course for an unprecedented fourth term in office on Monday as partial results showed his Socialist Party with a commanding lead in Sunday's parliamentary election.

Preliminary results in Albania’s parliamentary elections give a clear victory to the ruling Socialist Party which attracted voters supporting the country’s uphill effort to join the European Union and Prime Minister Edi Rama’s bid for a fourth term.

The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there.