The Democratic Party has described the decision by the Complaints and Sanctions Commission (KAS) to keep Kreshnik Hajdari in office as mayor of Kuçovë as a dangerous precedent for elections.

In a statement to the media, Marash Logu, secretary for legal and electoral affairs at the Democratic Party headquarters, said the decision was an open attempt to undermine the Decriminalization Law, which was passed as a vital guarantee to cleanse local government of individuals with criminal pasts.

“After the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) found the Socialist Party official guilty and sentenced him for falsifying the decriminalization form, keeping him in office through legal acrobatics is indefensible. This decision creates a dangerous precedent in which concealing criminal records and deceiving state and electoral institutions are not only left unpunished by removal from office, but are publicly tolerated,” he said.

He added that the citizens of Kuçovë and Albania deserve to be represented by officials who respect the law, not by individuals who violate it and remain in office through one-sided decisions.

It should be recalled that a few days ago, KAS upheld the Central Election Commission’s decision concerning the mandate of Kuçovë Mayor Kreshnik Hajdari.

Hajdari was sentenced in a final ruling in July 2024 to six months in prison for falsifying the decriminalization form; the sentence was converted to probation.

The mayor had failed to declare a sentence imposed on June 23, 1999, in a final ruling by the Ioannina Court for entering Greek territory without permission. Because he was 17 years old, the sentence was converted into the educational measure of a “reprimand.”

FULL STATEMENT:

The decision of the Complaints and Sanctions Commission (KAS) to uphold the mandate of Kuçovë Mayor Kreshnik Hajdari constitutes a serious blow to the rule of law and a direct undermining of citizens’ trust in institutions and the free vote.

The Democratic Party considers this decision an open attempt to eliminate the spirit and letter of the Decriminalization Law (Law No. 138/2015). This law was adopted as a vital guarantee to cleanse the administration and local government of people with criminal pasts and to protect the integrity of public office.

After the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) found the Socialist Party official guilty and sentenced him for falsifying the decriminalization form, keeping him in office through legal acrobatics is indefensible. This decision creates a dangerous precedent in which concealing criminal records and deceiving state and electoral institutions are not only left unpunished by removal from office, but are publicly tolerated.

The Electoral Code and the Constitution of the Republic of Albania cannot be interpreted according to two different standards in order to protect the political interests of those in power. The citizens of Kuçovë and all of Albania deserve to be represented by officials who respect the law, not by individuals who violate it and remain in office thanks to one-sided decisions.

The Democratic Party declares that this battle for legality and the dignity of the vote will continue through all remaining levels of the judiciary. We remain unwavering in our commitment to protect the standards of free and fair elections from any element that distorts the will of the sovereign.

The post KAS Keeps Kreshnik Hajdari in Office as Kuçovë Mayor, DP: Decision Creates a Dangerous Precedent for Elections appeared first on Albeu.com.

The Democratic Party has called for the immediate termination of the €15 million tender procedure for the purchase of three firefighting aircraft, as well as the launch of an investigation by SPAK.

Genta Vangjeli, the Democratic Party’s anti-corruption spokesperson, said documents published in the media raise suspicions about the company declared the winner.

According to her, the company has been involved in court cases in Spain related to the manipulation of tenders and corruption in the firefighting aircraft sector.

Vangjeli said these circumstances run counter to the legal criteria applied to procurement in the defense and security sectors, and called for the responsibilities to be established.

In her statement, she emphasized that the publication by the media of documents and information about the €15 million tender, through which three firefighting aircraft will be purchased, once again demonstrates how Edi Rama’s government administers national defense and security, as well as Albanian taxpayers’ funds.

According to media reports cited by her, the Ministry of Defense has selected Air Tractor Europe S.L. as the winner, a company involved in court rulings in Spain concerning tender manipulation and corruption in the field of aircraft used to fight fires.

Vangjeli stated that the decisions of the Spanish judicial authorities, which concern corrupt damages of at least €150 million, together with the 2024 decision of the Supreme Court in Greece, prevent the company from participating in public procurement procedures in European Union countries.

She added that Albanian legislation also provides for similar punitive clauses.

1. According to Article 38/1 of Law 36/2020, “On Procurement in the Field of Defense and Security,” the contracting authority disqualifies any operator when information is available that it is or has been convicted by a final criminal judgment of a range of criminal offenses, including forgery, corruption and fraud.

2. The standard tender documents in the field of defense and security, in Annex 10, which must be completed by the participating economic operator and submitted to the contracting authority, require the bidder to self-declare, under its full responsibility, that it has not been convicted of any of the criminal offenses specified in Article 38/1 of the law “On Procurement in the Field of Defense and Security.”

Based on these circumstances, the Democratic Party called for the immediate cancellation of the procedure and an in-depth investigation by SPAK, with the aim of penalizing those responsible.

The post Democratic Party calls for cancellation of €15 million tender for firefighting aircraft, Vangjeli: Winner linked to scandals in Spain, SPAK investigation… appeared first on Albeu.com.

The Democratic Party has denounced another case which, it says, demonstrates the unfair treatment of citizens by Tirana Municipality during procedures to collect tax liabilities.

Genta Vangjeli, the Democratic Party’s anti-corruption spokesperson, said the case was reported by Lush Vukaj and that the complaint was accompanied by documentation.

In her statement, Vangjeli said that Tirana Municipality had issued an enforcement order this year against the bank account of citizen Gentian Lush Vukaj.

The measure was intended to settle tax liabilities, including outstanding obligations and late-payment interest.

According to the citizen’s claim, he had paid the liability in full, in the amount requested by Tirana Municipality.

However, even after the payment had been made, the same amount was taken by blocking and executing the funds in his bank account, resulting in the same liability being paid twice.

After discovering what had happened, the citizen went to a commercial bank. The bank advised him to seek a solution by following the procedures at Tirana Municipality.

He said that he had gone to the institution several times, but the problem had not been resolved. According to him, during his contacts with the administration, he also encountered a lack of professionalism and arrogant behavior.

The Democratic Party considers that this case raises serious questions both about the administration of liability-collection procedures and about respect for citizens’ rights.

For this reason, the Democratic Party called on Tirana Municipality to immediately begin an investigation, identify any administrative responsibility that may have caused the situation, and fully clarify the matter.

If the citizen’s claims are confirmed, according to the Democrats, the amount withheld unlawfully must be reimbursed without delay, in cooperation with the relevant banking institution.

The Democratic Party also called on the responsible institutions to take measures to prevent similar cases from happening again.

Genta Vangjeli stressed that Tirana Municipality must serve citizens and ensure respect for their rights. She added that banks have an obligation to guarantee legal certainty for every action affecting their clients’ property, while the rule of law begins with protecting citizens’ most fundamental rights.

Until the statement was published, Tirana Municipality had issued no official response to the allegations raised by the Democratic Party.

The post Democratic Party accuses Tirana Municipality of double-charging a liability: Case must be verified and amount returned appeared first on Albeu.com.

Jola Hysaj has spoken publicly following her appointment as head of the National Tourism Agency, confirming that she has accepted the position and responding to the many comments and questions she says she has received on social media. In a message posted on social media, Hysaj expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her and said she intends to justify it through her work. “Yes, I have been appointed director of the National Tourism Agency. I am very grateful for the trust placed in me, and I hope to fully justify it,” she wrote.

The former Democratic Party secretary for public relations also confirmed that she had met Prime Minister Edi Rama, revealing the message she said she received from him. “Yes, I met Edi Rama. The words that stuck with me were: ‘I do not want you to become a socialist; I want you to take the institution built by Zana Çela to greater heights,’” Hysaj wrote.

She clarified that her political convictions have not changed but stressed that she is no longer part of the Democratic Party. “Yes, I am a democrat, but I am not with the Democratic Party. I am with the party of tourism-focused Albania,” she said. At the end of her statement, Hysaj called on her followers to respect her decision to lead an institution in a field in which she says she has years of experience.

STATEMENT

Hello, since I have received many questions on WhatsApp from friends, here is my response.

Yes, I have been appointed director of the National Tourism Agency. I am very grateful for the trust placed in me, and I hope to fully justify it.

Yes, I met Edi Rama. The words that stuck with me were: I do not want you to become a socialist; I want you to take the institution built by Zana Çela to greater heights.

Yes, I am a democrat, but I am not with the Democratic Party. I am with the party of tourism-focused Albania.

I hope you will respect my freedom and my decision to take on a new job in a sector in which I have worked for many years.

Everyone is free to speculate and spin conspiracy theories. But those who know me know that I do not mince my words.

That is all I had to say. I thank anyone who wishes me success in my work! As for anyone who wants to insult and curse me, they have my sympathy.

The post Jola Hysaj Speaks After Being Appointed Head of the National Tourism Agency: I Am a Democrat, but Not with the Democratic Party. What Stuck with Me from My Meeting with Rama appeared first on Albeu.com.

In a Facebook post, Murrizi writes that there are people in the Democratic Party who are willing to become “clowns” simply to please Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha.

According to him, the only race deliberately opened was the one between Belind Këlliçi and Luçiano Boçi, as the aim was to remove the latter from the post of vice-chairman of the Democratic Party.

“After Luçiano Boçi’s removal, only Berisha and Muli remain from the REFOUNDATION,” he stresses in his post.

The former MP also writes that “the mission to transform the REFOUNDATION into a RETURN, as the third hand of Basha’s Democratic Party, was successfully completed.”

In conclusion, he describes the elections in the Democratic Party not as “renewal,” but as “regurgitation.”

Murrizi’s full post:

The big trouble with the Democratic Party

When you do not get votes and lose elections, they remove Luli through an article when you have been elected by the public and receive votes; they remove Muli through an article.

Yesterday happened exactly as I had said three days ago: the “rival” candidates facing those who had been singled out to be “elected” emerged as volunteer political clowns, offering themselves to be used merely to please the commander.

I strongly suspect that some of the formal contenders may not even have voted for their own names.

The only race yesterday, and even that one was deliberately designed to remove Luçiano as vice-chairman, was between Luçiano Boçi and Belind Këlliçi for one of the Democratic Party’s three vice-chairmanships.

I say one of the three vice-chairmen because Garzi and Gjekmarkaj, whom Berisha appointed as so-called vice-chairmen back in 2023 without a vote, and whom he continues to call vice-chairmen without their being elected, are of no concern to anyone who has even a little dignity and self-respect, given what the Democratic Party statute says.

Whether Berisha likes them, keeps them out of necessity, or has been forced to do so, those who may like them should let Berisha keep them, even on his lap if he wishes, because perhaps they would be more satisfied than with the posts they have held for three years, one as parliamentary group chairman and the other as deputy speaker of parliament.

After Luçiano Boçi’s removal, only Berisha and Muli remain from the REFOUNDATION.

All the others left and were replaced by those who were with Basha, who expelled Berisha, who said they would leave politics if Berisha returned, who were staunchly pro-American, and who beat up DEMOCRATS at Democratic Party headquarters on January 8, 2022.

Yesterday, the mission to transform the REFOUNDATION into the RETURN of the third hand of Basha’s Democratic Party into the first hand of the refounded Democratic Party was successfully completed.

What they are trying to sell as Renewal is nothing more than REGURGITATION of what they said about one another from September 2021 to December 2023.

Now let us wait for September to begin the “revolution,” not of the Flamingos but of the Flamengos.

On May 11, 2025, the Democratic Party had 160 candidates on the open list across Albania, and each received VOTES from CITIZENS according to the citizens’ assessment, not the chairman’s preference.

And when the Democratic Party does not value those whom citizens valued with their vote, but seeks to promote those who received fewer votes simply because it wants to have as soldiers three or four disgusting flatterers and servile people who fawn over Berisha and have the Democratic Party by the throat, then all the hypocrisy and demagoguery that we have achieved renewal or have the best team we have ever had reminds me of communist slogans claiming that we are a granite rock.

Berisha of Generation A does well to boast that he has formed a team with Generation Z, but the problem is that Generation Z was recommended to Berisha by the Generations K, B and Q surrounding him, because I am convinced that he neither knows nor understands what more than half of those elected are.

In any case, time will show how much political value the new renewal team, full of politically anonymous individuals with almost ZERO contribution to the Democratic Party, will have among citizens.

Until the elections, it is “training.”

The match is at the BALLOT BOX.

THE REST IS NONSENSE THAT NO ONE BELIEVES AFTER 16 YEARS IN OPPOSITION.

The post Former Democratic Party MP reveals behind-the-scenes details of party elections: The race was deliberately opened only to remove Luçiano Boçi as vice-chairman appeared first on Albeu.com.

In a statement to the media, MP Eno Bozdo described the decision as a misuse of funds, arguing that the reserve fund is intended for emergencies such as natural disasters, not private events.

According to him, the concert does not meet the constitutional criteria of “need and urgency” that justify the issuance of a normative act.

The Democratic MP accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of using the concert as a means of diverting attention from anti-government protests that have been continuing for more than a month.

“Edi Rama designed the private concert precisely as a social fire extinguisher, to extinguish the spirit and soul of the protest and to paint a false image of Albania internationally, where the spectacle attempts to cover up the deep roots of crime and corruption, election theft, the emptying and dismantling of Albania, and the collapsing education and healthcare systems,” he said.

The Democratic Party has asked the Supreme State Audit to determine when negotiations for the concert began, whether they took place before the approval of the 2026 budget, and whether a detailed cost estimate exists for the €4.3 million amount, as required by Budget Instruction No. 9.

FULL STATEMENT:

On behalf of the Democratic Party and opposition MPs who are members of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Employment and Finance, today we submitted a request to the Supreme State Audit to carry out a full compliance audit into the legality of the approval and implementation of the Normative Act using the state budget reserve fund to finance a private event with €4.3 million in state money.

As everyone is now aware, the Council of Ministers allocated as much as €4.3 million from the State Budget Reserve Fund to finance a private concert by singer Kanye West in Tirana, clearly misusing and distorting the procedure and legality of the Normative Act.

Although the event was private, although the government had for months assured the public that no funding from the state budget would be disbursed, €4.3 million was nevertheless swiftly removed from budget funds intended for natural disasters, such as fires or floods, earthquakes or other major unforeseen events with a significant economic and social impact.

In fact, the only major development taking place in Albania during this period is the awakening of Albanian society and the mass revolt of tens of thousands of Albanians, representing all social groups and political voters, expressed through daily protests for nearly two months against Edi Rama’s government.

Edi Rama designed the private concert precisely as a social fire extinguisher, to extinguish the spirit and soul of the protest and to paint a false image of Albania internationally, where the spectacle attempts to cover up the deep roots of crime and corruption, election theft, the emptying and dismantling of Albania, and the collapsing education and healthcare systems.

And this fire extinguisher was financed with €4.3 million, while the damage caused by natural disasters was never funded, such as the successive floods affecting thousands of farmers in the south and north of the country just a few months ago, or the lack of logistics for extinguishing fires or dealing with earthquakes.

On the other hand, the Normative Act constitutes a direct blow to fiscal discipline and the principles of good governance. The use of this instrument from the reserve fund in this case conflicts with:

* Article 101 of the Constitution: Normative acts are reserved exclusively for taking temporary measures in cases of “need and urgency.” An entertainment music concert, which requires months of planning and negotiations, does not under any circumstances constitute either a state necessity or a national emergency.

* The Law on the Management of the Budget System (No. 9936): Article 5 clearly stipulates that the Reserve Fund exists only to cover expenditures that are unknown and objectively impossible to foresee during the drafting of the budget.

This action profoundly deviates from European best practices and international guidelines on public finance management, which require absolute transparency and strict restrictions on the use of emergency funds.

Therefore, this is a case of failure to meet the essential criteria of legality: unforeseeability, impossibility of planning, and compliance with budget procedures.

For this reason, we have asked the Supreme State Audit to urgently clarify:

* When exactly did negotiations for this concert begin, and did this happen before the approval of the 2026 annual budget?

* Is there a detailed cost estimate for this €4.3 million amount, as required by Budget Instruction No. 9?

* How can the government prove the “impossibility of planning” for an event that requires a proper contractual and logistical agreement?

Every Albanian knows the answers to these questions well, but as the opposition, we have an obligation to establish a European standard by putting an end once and for all to this blatant abuse of budget money, which finances the cosmetic appearance of Edi Rama’s government.

Because using the state budget as a personal pocket, without regard for the law or procedures, is an act that today cannot be found even in states considered bankrupt, let alone in countries aiming to become part of the EU within just a few years.

We hope that the Supreme State Audit will rise to the task assigned to it by law and pursue this procedure to the very end—a procedure that would shame anyone, except Rama and his government!

The post Allocation of €4 Million for Kanye West Concert/ Democratic Party Calls for Audit by Supreme State Audit: Rama Wanted to Quell the Protests! State Budget Cannot Be Used as a Personal Pocket appeared first on Albeu.com.

According to him, the stance taken by academics, scientists, professors and well-known experts represents a meaningful uniting of the voice of the Albanian elite with that of the citizens and young people who are protesting.

“The Democratic Party of Albania, which has supported and continues to fully support the youth civic protest and its demands, highly values and fully supports the letter of the 260 distinguished Albanian personalities around the world — scientists, academics, professors and renowned experts from various fields — and the full support they give to the demands of the most powerful youth civic movement in the country’s history,” the DP emphasizes.

Berisha also considers this support to be an appeal addressed to all Albanians, inside and outside the country, to stand alongside the youth movement.

“This letter, through which the nation’s elite outside Albania joins its voice with the voice of Albanian youth and citizens, is at the same time a call for every Albanian, wherever they live, to support without reservation the demands of the youth civic movement in Albania as the only way to resolve the deep political, moral and institutional crisis that has gripped the country, caused by Edi Rama’s authoritarian dictatorship based on the concentration of all powers in one hand, the suppression of political pluralism, electoral farce, crime, drugs and the plundering of Albanians,” the DP statement says.

The post Berisha: Every Albanian Should Come Out in Support of Change appeared first on Albeu.com.

The request was signed by the head of the DP Parliamentary Group, Gazment Bardhi, and was submitted on the eve of the conclusion of Parliament’s work for this parliamentary session, which is scheduled for Thursday.

According to the Democrats, the demands presented by protesters at the recent civic rallies are of high public interest and require an institutional response through a parliamentary debate.

In the document submitted to Parliament, it is emphasized that the protesters have raised five main demands: the resignation of the government, the repeal of the legal framework for strategic investments, the cancellation of the legal framework known as the “Mountains Package,” the repeal of the amendments to the law on protected areas, and the cancellation of the amendments to the law on Albanian cultural heritage.

The DP underlines that these are issues the opposition has raised in Parliament for a long time, and that it has also submitted concrete legislative initiatives for the repeal of the respective acts.

In the request addressed to the Conference of Chairpersons and the leaders of Parliament, the Democrats assess that a debate in Parliament is necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in response to the concerns expressed by citizens.

The Democratic Party also recalls that it had previously requested a motion with debate regarding the latest report of the European Parliament and Albania’s progress in the European integration process, stressing that the findings and recommendations of that report deserve separate discussion in Parliament.

It now remains to be seen whether the majority will accept the opposition’s request to hold this motion with debate before the parliamentary session closes, or whether the issue will be left for the next session.

The post PD urgently seeks a motion with debate in Parliament on the protests before the session closes on Thursday appeared first on Albeu.com.