The
fall of communism in Albania, the last such event in Europe outside the USSR, started in earnest in December 1990 with student demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, although protests had begun earlier that year in other cities. The Central Committee of the communist
Party of Labour of Albania allowed political pluralism on 11 December and the largest opposition party, the
Democratic Party, was founded the next day.
March 1991 elections left the Party of Labour in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a "stability government" that included non-communists. Albania's former communists were routed in
elections in March 1992 amid economic collapse and social unrest, with the Democratic Party winning most seats and its party head, Sali Berisha, becoming president.