Edi Rama aims to unseat old enemy as Albanians head to polls Sitting in a gleaming, minimalist office at his Socialist party's headquarters in rundown central Tirana, Edi Rama sounds confident of victory in Albania's parliamentary election on Sunday. His aim is to defeat Prime Minister Sali Berisha and begin the task of steering the corruption plagued, impoverished nation towards its goal of EU membership. Mr Rama, former mayor of Tirana and a modernist painter who studied in Paris, and Mr Berisha, a cardiologist and wily survivor of Albania's era of Stalinist self-isolation, are old and bitter foes. Their feud has been an obstacle to democratic reforms, sparked violent clashes between their supporters and even fed tensions across the western Balkans. Eight years of rule by Mr Berisha's pro-business Democratic party has left "very large gaps in governance," says Mr Rama. Corruption has got worse with time... There is no rule of law and no respect for citizens" rights. We have huge problems with property rights and an opaque tax system that has changed dozens of times in the past eight years. Tensions between the two men run particularly high during elections. Mr Rama accuses Mr Berisha of stealing the last parliamentary poll four years ago and then masterminding his removal from Tirana city hall in a disputed municipal election in 2011 that gave the Democratic candidate victory by just 95 votes. That same year, four people were killed when republican guard troops opened fire on Socialist-led protesters massed outside Mr Berisha's office. Albania's poor record in holding elections, along with its failure to crack down on corruption or strengthen the judiciary, contributed to three successive rejections of its application to become an official EU membership candidate. Nor have its Nato partners - Albania joined the alliance in 2009 - welcomed statements by Mr Berisha evoking a "Greater Albania" that would potentially unify Albanians in five Balkan countries. And in last year's corruption index published by Transparency International, Albania fell to 113th of 176. Yet if Sunday's election is deemed fair by a monitoring mission of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the country may win official EU candidate status this year, opening the way for accession talks that could start in 2014. Backing EU membership is one policy Mr Rama and Mr Berisha agree on. This has done nothing to stop the campaign being tainted by vitriolic personal exchanges recalling communist-era denunciations. Mr Rama accuses his rival of illegally favouring a "clan" of relatives and close friends through the award of government contracts and concessions. The prime minister retorts that Mr Rama has put a clutch of wealthy businessmen on the socialist ticket, hoping to profit from their support. Mr Rama's left of centre coalition, called Renaissance, has doubled its lead during the campaign to six points, according to opinion polls. But one western observer warned that much of that could be eroded by irregularities on polling day, raising the possibility of another disputed result. With so many Albanians living outside the country, it's easy for officials to steal the identity of a voter who is registered but won't be here for the election Artan Hoxha, investigative journalist Both parties are suspected of buying votes in key constituencies and paying bribes to electoral commission officials. But the incumbents have an edge since they can threaten to dismiss civil servants who fail to produce mobile phone images of their ballot paper marked for the Democrats, the same observer said. Electoral fraud is more sophisticated this time, according to Artan Hoxha, an investigative journalist. Mr Hoxha revealed the existence of 25,000 fake identity cards - enough to swing five close-run electoral contests - on his weekly television show. He says they are produced by a company with links to the interior ministry. Ministry officials deny any involvement in fraud. Mr Hoxha says: "With so many Albanians living outside the country, it's easy for officials to steal the identity of a voter who is registered but won't be here for the election." Campaigning from a purple tour bus, visible from miles away on Albania's twisting mountain roads, Mr Rama promises a brighter future to residents of remote villages who live on state benefits of €30-50 month. Increasing numbers of Albanians are returning home after losing jobs in Greece and Italy: they hope to produce cash crops for the local market. By contrast, Mr Berisha travels the country in an official motorcade, promising to build more highways to link Albania with its Balkan neighbours and bring foreign investors to undertake giant hydropower projects, even though only a handful of 80 such projects already licensed are actually being built. But grandiose, Stalinist-era projects are not what is needed, according to Ilia Kristo, an economics professor at Tirana University. "Some road and hydroelectric projects have caused environmental damage," he says. We need a more sensitive approach that will conserve our potential for tourism. Mr Rama says the premier's economic model, "based on jobless growth - construction, remittances [from migrant workers] and the informal economy - is exhausted." Albania needs to modernise, he says, "to start producing and processing food here, not rely on imports, and develop tourism. Our biggest asset is our country's natural beauty.