The 2025 Albanian parliamentary elections highlight a complex relationship between media visibility, narrative framing, and electoral performance, demonstrating that volume of media exposure can have varied electoral outcomes depending on the nature and tone of coverage.

Photo: Political parties' presence in period (April–May 2025)

The Socialist Party (PS), led by Edi Rama, achieved a huge electoral victory, gaining 53.3% of the popular vote and securing 83 seats (+9 compared to the previous election). Notably, PS demonstrated a strong media presence, ranked second highest with almost 18k articles, and leading social engagement with over 2.9 million interactions. High media visibility evidently complemented Rama’s electoral success.

In contrast, the opposition Democratic Party (PD), under Sali Berisha, received significant media attention (27,238 articles, 2.55 million social engagements), yet faced considerable electoral setbacks, dropping to 32.9% of votes and losing 13 parliamentary seats. Notably, PD's high media mentions included substantial negative coverage, driven both by internal party struggles and persistent critical messaging from ruling-party-affiliated media. This exposure, though extensive, amplified negative associations rather than voter confidence, reflecting the limitations of visibility when dominated by unfavorable framing.

New political movements like LSHB/NISMA-SHB, led by Adriatik Lapaj, illustrated the potential impact of modest but targeted media presence. Despite fewer media mentions (24 articles) and moderate social engagement (6k interactions), the party successfully entered Parliament, capturing 1 seat with 4.0% of votes. Similarly, Levizja BASHKË, led by Arlind Qori, secured 1.5% of votes and won 1 seat, with a relatively limited media presence (2.5k articles, 510 social posts, and 67k engagements), suggesting effectiveness of targeted digital campaigning.

The Freedom Party (Partia e Lirisë) and the Party for Justice, Integration, and Unity (PDIU) showed contrasting outcomes. The Freedom Party maintained a moderate media and social presence (5k articles, 534 social posts, 85k engagements), yet this was insufficient to translate into significant parliamentary representation. The PDIU, despite similarly limited media exposure, had negligible electoral outcomes, indicating the absence of impactful or resonant messaging.

This case underscores that while high media exposure significantly contributes to electoral success, particularly evident in PS’s victory, it cannot fully guarantee electoral gains—especially in cases like PD, where strong media presence did not offset underlying party challenges. Newer political entities effectively leverage modest media resources for meaningful electoral inroads, highlighting the growing importance of strategic targeting and engagement quality over sheer volume.

In conclusion, the Albanian 2025 elections demonstrate the nuanced relationship between media presence and voter decisions, emphasizing the need for parties to integrate comprehensive media strategies aligned closely with voter sentiment and political credibility.