Albania's prime minister has thanked hundreds of thousands of voters who supported his Socialist Party in the last parliamentary elections, backing his pledge to take the country into the European Union in five years.

Albania's prime minister Edi Rama has secured an unprecedented fourth term in power as his Socialist Party sailed to victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, a near complete vote count showed on Tuesday.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has clinched a historic fourth term, becoming the first leader in the country’s post-communist era to secure such a mandate. His Socialist Party (PS) won 52% of the vote in Sunday’s election,