The opposition Democratic Party has demanded the Central Election Commission to call for revote in 9 of Albania’s 12 electoral districts.
Complaints submitted by the PD lawyers on Sunday state that the opposition does not recognize results in these districts. They have called the April 25 elections “an electoral massacre” and “the biggest rigging of elections” in Albania.
Opposition allegations filed with the CEC include:
- Vote buying
- Intimidation of voters
- Personal data theft
- Intimidation through stolen personal and Socialist Party “patrons”
- Employment of public administration in favor of the PS
- Awarding of tenders, legalization of illegal buildings and awarding of illegal payments to buy votes
- Increased levels of employment in public administration in exchange of votes
- Running in elections of organized crime representatives
- Deployment of criminal gangs to buy voters and threaten voters
- Police and prosecution inaction against vote-buying
- Anti-constitutional changes by parliament to electoral law
- Changes to ballot paper design, which led to 83 thousand invalid votes
- Not enabling the vote of emigrants
- Preventing emigrants from voting through mandatory quarantine
Redo elections were called for in Shkoder, Durres, Tiran, Elbasan, Fier, Berat, Gjirokaster, Korce and Vlore. The largest opposition party recognizes election results only in the remaining three districts: Diber, Kukes, and Lezhe.
The opposition complaints will be reviewed by a special panel of CEC, bringing to a delay for the final results announcement of the April 25 elections.
