The 'Çyrbja' case: Crime-politics symbiosis and the role in electoral corruption

On the eve of the 2021 parliamentary elections, the Socialist Party candidate for the Shijak area, Jurgis Çyrbja, received a promise from a local crime boss through a conversation on the SKY ECC app that he would secure thousands of votes in his electoral area.

"I'll give you 3 thousand, my dear," Altin Hajri, owner of a luxury resort in Shijak, is quoted as having written to him. "We've blinded Gjepale."

The discovery of SKY ECC communications led to the arrest in October 2024 of Jurgis Çyrbje, after a decade of a turbulent career as head of local administration and two-term deputy of the Albanian Parliament.

According to the investigation data of the Special Prosecution Office, the Çyrbja case represents a typical example of the deep connections that exist between organized crime and politics in Albania, as well as the role of this symbiosis in the electoral process and in the field of law enforcement.

The Special Prosecution's investigations suggest that Çyrbja was an investment of organized crime in the safe list of Socialist Party candidates in the Durrës area - while he is accused of serving them with secret information on police operations or with assistance in cases when they had problems with law enforcement institutions.

As a result of these connections, Çyrbja is accused of "electoral corruption", as he is suspected of managing to mobilize members of organized crime to secure votes for the ruling Socialist Party.

The Çyrbja case is not isolated. Two previous Serious Crimes investigations, known as files 339 and 184, revealed the involvement of criminal groups in the 2017 parliamentary elections as well as the 2016 local by-elections in Debar in favor of the Socialist Party. However, the investigations were closed without any visible results.

'Through force and money'   

On the eve of the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025, the Special Prosecution Office declared that it has drafted a strategy for electoral crimes, taking a proactive role in preventing and investigating crimes related to electoral corruption, abuse of administration, or the involvement of organized crime.

The strategy also includes the establishment of an Election Task Force, with a central structure in SPAK and investigative groups in the field to cover electoral zones in Albania.

However, political observers and civil society representatives are concerned about the conduct of these elections, given the facts made public about the influence that organized crime groups exert on electoral processes.

Ervis Iljazaj, a lecturer in Political Science at the European University of Tirana, told BIRN that organized crime has become a worrying phenomenon for Albanian society, economy and politics. Their service to politics, according to Iljazaj, is linked to their engagement in electoral campaigns through “force or money”.

"It is no longer an opinion, but a fact that certain gangs in certain cities engage in collecting votes which then turn into favors that the government does them," said Iljazaj.

"The problem is that now their money does not only come from criminal activities, but through connections with politics they have entered the 'regular' economy, especially in the construction market," he added.

While assessing that the exact weight and role of organized crime in the final election result is difficult to determine, Iljazaj says that the Prosecution's investigations and data published in the media clearly show the impact.

"With the electoral system we have, a handful of votes can make the difference between winning a mandate or losing it. So, yes, in some cases it can be decisive, distorting the free will of the voters and popular sovereignty," he stressed.

For Gentjan Serjanin, leader of the organization "Social Justice", the role of organized crime goes as far as determining the members of Parliament and is "determinative of which party will be in power."

Serjani also emphasized that crime particularly affects vulnerable groups in society.

"Crime operates in securing votes through buying, threatening individuals who work for political opponents, as well as through financial support of electoral campaigns for certain individuals," Serjani said.

"Crime affects all categories, but more specifically vulnerable groups," he added, emphasizing that in these cases, threats are used.

Experts assess that the involvement of organized crime in elections is an increased risk for Albania's fragile democracy.

According to Iljazaj, organized crime today influences the destruction of democracy through "the deformation of people's free will to elect their representatives."

Serjani also agrees, while emphasizing that in addition to violating the will through voting, organized crime is one of the factors in the creation of a "one-party governing system for many years."

"Also, the consequences of the longer lifespan of a ruling party are known," he concluded./ BIRN