The case of Hajdar and Qerim Ismailaj. CEC "forgave" his mandate, but the former mayor of Mallakastra was sentenced to 6 months in prison

The State Commissioner of Elections, Ilirian Celibashi, decided yesterday that the mayor of Kuçova, Kreshnik Hajdari, was not in the conditions to lose his mandate, even though the prosecution discovered that he had a sentence in Greece in 1999 that was not declared in the decriminalization form.

"There is no legal reason for the term of office of the mayor of Kuçova to be terminated," said Celibashi after the review session, where the parties raised their claims. According to him, - "there are no reasons that prevent him from running in the elections", referring to the law "On guaranteeing the integrity of persons who are elected, appointed or exercise public functions", or as it is known as "Decriminalization".

The relevant directorate at the General Prosecutor's Office, which deals with the in-depth investigation of candidates in local and central elections, informed the CEC that Hajdari was convicted by a final decision by the Court of First Instance of Janina.

The punishment with a fine and then the deportation from the Greek state happened in 1999 for illegal entry into the Greek territory together with the family.

Hajdari retains his mandate, but is taken as a defendant by SPAK

Just one day after the CEC's decision, the mayor of Kuçova, Hajdari, was charged by SPAK after he hid his sentence in Greece for illegal border crossing.

The SP official was questioned today at the Special Prosecutor's Office and after leaving he refused to speak to the media, while his lawyer stated that his client was not charged  , but was asked about a report filed against to the mayor for concealing the sentence in Greece.

Similar case to Qerim Ismailaj, he lost his mandate and was sentenced to 6 months

The Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime in Tirana also charged the mayor of Mallakastra, Qerim Ismailaj, in November 2021.

He was accused by the DP of having lied on the decriminalization form for the conviction in the neighboring state. Ismailaj himself stated that he had no knowledge of this sentence, as otherwise he would have stated it because it would not have prevented him from running for mayor.

At the end of the investigations, Ismailaj was charged with the criminal offense of forging stamps and forms.

However, for the CEC and Ilirjan Celibas, this did not constitute a serious criminal offense, where in the Albanian legislation the maximum penalty is a fine, so the mayor is not under the conditions of detention.

Again, after a long process, Ismailaj was sentenced by GJKKO to 6 months in prison, which was commuted to 40 hours of public interest work.