SP candidates were "forbidden" to take video footage, Blushi reacts: Refusal, proof of vote manipulation

DP-ASHM candidate for MP Tedi Blushi has reacted regarding the refusal that Prime Minister Edi Rama made some of the socialist MPs to receive video footage from the CEC regarding the counting of preferential votes which closed yesterday evening.

Blushi says that Rama's refusal is a rejection of the right to transparency by anyone participating in this process. According to him, Rama has threatened the deputies who made the request to the CEC, Gjylameti and Qefalia, who remained outside the parliament.

Statement by the Secretary General, Tedi Blushi:

The Freedom Party expresses its deepest indignation at the threatening statement of Prime Minister Edi Rama, addressed to the candidates for MPs of "Rilindja" who seek to exercise their legitimate right to verify the video footage of the vote counting process in the Tirana District.

This action constitutes not only a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability in a democratic system, but is also clear evidence of Edi Rama's fear and panic in the face of the discovery of serious manipulations and scandals that have accompanied the May 11 electoral process.

This threat is not an isolated act, but evidence of the authoritarianism of a Narco Prime Minister who has long since abandoned and who daily tramples on the norms of democracy and the rule of law.

The one who once went on hunger strikes to demand the opening of ballot boxes, today threatens to close Albanians' eyes to the harsh truth of the alienation of civic will.

The video footage of the vote count is authentic, indisputable evidence of a process that must be open, monitorable, and guaranteed for all.

The refusal to make them public is a desperate attempt to cover up evidence of manipulation, vote theft, and the use of every means of pressure on citizens to distort the election result.

The Freedom Party strongly emphasizes that transparency is the main pillar of legitimacy in any electoral process.

The lack of transparency is not just a technical issue, but a direct attack on democracy. When ballot boxes are forcibly closed, when footage is hidden or denied, when votes are bought, stolen or distorted, we are not dealing with elections, but with a farce orchestrated by the government to maintain rule at all costs.

The distortion of the will of citizens through pressure, blackmail, fear, intentional poverty, and control of every aspect of daily life is a criminal act that cannot be pardoned. The vote is the citizen's most powerful weapon in a democratic system – and when it is stolen, the people's dignity, freedom, and future are stolen.

The Freedom Party reiterates its determination to continue the political, institutional and civic battle to protect the free vote. We are and will remain by the side of every citizen who seeks justice, equality and the opportunity to decide for themselves their future, through an honest and credible electoral process.

We will not stop in the face of any blackmail, pressure, or manipulation. We will identify and denounce every violation, every abuse, every attempt to turn the elections into a formality and a falsity.

Protecting the free vote is not simply a political goal, but a national mission to return Albania to the path of truly functional democracy, the rule of law, and equality before the law for all.