The recount in Fier cast doubt on the integrity of the vote

The recount of 586 ballot boxes in the Fier region, requested by two members of the Complaints and Sanctions Commission (KAS), focused on the clash between two Socialist Party candidates, Zegjine Çaushi and Maldrita Bardho, whose future in the Assembly was temporarily changed by just 10 votes.

Beyond this debate focused on social networks and the media (some driven by clicks, others by pure political intentions), the recount highlighted a deeper problem: vote shifting in favor of certain candidates, a practice that raises suspicions of violations of electoral standards.

During the recount for the Fier region, it was found that Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Ceno Klosi, the SP candidate in Fier, had unfairly gained 831 votes.

Similarly, another candidate, Klevis Jahaj, director of the Water Supply Company (under the same ministry), had 497 votes deducted from his first count. A DP candidate, Silva Hasaj, had 671 votes fictitiously added during the first count.

What happened?

In some ballot boxes, the recount result brings up a discussion about whether we are dealing with simple human error or deliberate vote shifting.

For example, in just four recounted ballot boxes, the SP candidate, Ceno Klos, received 85, 32, 29 and 22 extra votes for each of them. Unlike Tirana, where KAS members justified the vote movements as a result of human errors, the situation in Fier is different.

CAS

KAS member Ledion Braho, one of the two initiators of the request for a recount in Fier, publicly stated that regardless of the decision that KAS will make, he will personally forward all the tables and minutes with the changed results to the Fier Prosecutor's Office. "I believe that this is sufficient evidence for the Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation into vote trafficking ," he stressed.

Faktoje.al is currently awaiting a request for information addressed to SPAK regarding the question of whether any complaints have been made about the Fier region and, if not, has this institution initiated any investigations?

Experts

ISP Director, Afrim Krasniqi, said in a brief comment to Faktoje that the Fier region confirmed the warning of the electoral risk map (prepared by ISP) regarding concerns about irregularities and violation of electoral standards.

"The large vote swings, many times higher than even the Tirana region, favoring candidates with high executive positions and strong informal connections, are indicators of vote tampering and sufficient basis for administrative investigations by the CEC and criminal investigations by law enforcement agencies. Also, in parallel, the responsible political entities themselves should conduct investigations and declare their position, as these acts are contrary to the oath and solemn declaration filed with the CEC by the heads of the respective political parties and to the rhetoric on vote integrity used by political leaders in the campaign," says Krasniqi.

According to him, " the tendency to justify the counters and to make vote trafficking during the counting the norm is a worrying development, a practice expressly prohibited by electoral legislation, as well as an act undermining the concept of elections, democracy and legitimacy in representation."/ Faktoje.al