Communist President Loses In Historic Albanian Vote

ALBANIA'S ruling Communists appeared yesterday to have won a clear election victory at the price of personal defeat for President Ramiz Alia and loss of most major towns to the opposition Democratic Party. Western election observers said latest tallies in Sunday's parliamentary election showed the ruling Party of Labor with 140 of the 250 People's Assembly seats to 70 for the Democrats.

Official results in the first multiparty poll since the Communists took power in 1944 were not available. The outcome of voting for about 35 seats was not known, and the fate of a further five or six will be decided in a runoff next Sunday, the observers said.

Officials in Mr. Alia's Tirana constituency said he was trounced by a margin of 2 to 1 by a Democratic candidate, geologist Franko Krroqi.

Prime Minister Fatos Nano, running in what was considered the safest Communist seat in Tirana, was expected to face a runoff. Foreign Minister Muhamet Kapllani was trailing badly.