TIRANA - Albanians go to the polls for legislative elections seen as crucial for the European future of the country, with polls showing the two main rivals neck and neck.

Some 3.1 million voters are being asked to elect 140 parliamentary deputies for a four-year mandate in the election -- the seventh since the fall of communism in the 1990s -- choosing among 4,000 candidates representing 39 parties and coalitions.

Polls are to open at 7 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday and close 12 hours later.

Various surveys have put Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democrats and Edi Rama's opposition Socialists close in the polls, seen as key to the country's hopes of joining the European Union.

Since the fall of communism, all elections in Albania have been disputed and sullied by violence. Some 3,000 monitors -- including 500 foreigners -- are to observe the voting process.

At the final rally in Tirana late on Friday, Berisha called on "all Albanians to be united behind our European dream, to unite in our effort to make Albania similar to the whole of Europe."

In a separate rally, his opponent Rama, the mayor of Tirana, said the "time for a big change is about to come."

"The Socialists are those who will take Albanians towards Europe, for the Democrats have lost their chance," Rama told his supporters at a separate rally in Tirana.

The Balkans state has joined the NATO military alliance and took its first small step towards joining the European Union by submitting its membership application in April.

The EU has indicated that any progress towards membership for the predominantly Muslim nation of 3.6 million that remains one of Europe's poorest countries depends on it holding peaceful elections that meet international standards.