During a roundtable on strengthening the role of prosecutors in the fight against electoral crimes, organized by the OSCE and the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ambassador of the OSCE Presence, Michel Tarran, emphasized that phenomena such as vote buying or abuse of administration, up to voter intimidation, continue to be worrying elements that the relevant investigative institutions should take into account in the parliamentary elections of May 11.
"The ODHIR reports on the 2021 and 2023 elections show that in particular phenomena such as vote buying, voter intimidation or misuse of the administration continue to be very worrying. I appreciate the cooperation of SPAK, the CEC and the police and the General Prosecutor's Office as a cornerstone to prevent electoral crime."
Alongside the ambassador was the Prosecutor General, Olsian Çela, according to whom all institutions responsible for investigating electoral crime have the necessary capacity and maximum inter-institutional commitment to achieve results in preventing and taking measures for electoral crimes.
"Exchanging experiences, discussing priorities in investigating electoral crimes, but also familiarizing prosecutors and judicial police officers with the phenomena of irregularities that are observed during the electoral process, assessing them in some cases as violations of the law that constitute a criminal offense, will be an innovation not only in raising the awareness of prosecutors and police officers about what happens during the electoral process but will also make them more sensitive to understanding the importance of our role during this process. We have institutional cooperation with the CEC and we also have them in offices in district prosecutors' offices so that cooperation is rapid."
The police have found violations of the law by political parties on the ground, said Deputy Director General of the Police Sokol Bizhga, while emphasizing that no one will escape prosecution by the blue uniforms.
"We are closely following political actors or other people who should be more careful in respecting the law, as the police have identified some non-serious cases of violation of the law, but we have identified them. We will not hesitate to prosecute everyone, but political actors should also be more careful with their supporters in the field. We have certified police, we have more quality."
CEC Head Ilirjan Celibashi was careful to emphasize that the cooperation between the general prosecutor's office, SPAK, and the CEC is not a facade.
"I understand that for some there is skepticism. Someone has described it as a show or a show by institutions for a little public opinion, but it is not. So in the coming days and weeks you will see how serious this cooperation is."
A Coordination and Cooperation Protocol for the Investigation of Electoral Crimes has also been signed between the Central Election Commission, the General Prosecutor's Office and SPAK. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
