Shortly before Albania’s parliamentary elections, Deputy PM Balluku and top officials face a new SPAK complaint over alleged attempts to manipulate the diaspora vote, raising questions about electoral integrity.

A new complaint has been lodged with Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office (SPAK) against Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku and several senior government officials, raising fresh concerns about the integrity of the country’s electoral process. As reported by BalkanWeb in April 2025, Florjan Haçkaj, a representative of the civil society group “Diaspora for a Free Albania,” filed the complaint, alleging systematic efforts to manipulate the votes of Albanian emigrants ahead of the May 11 parliamentary elections (BalkanWeb, April 2025).

Database of Emigrant Voters Alleged

Haçkaj’s complaint specifically accuses Eriselda Sefa, the mayor of Lushnja, of compiling a database containing personal information—such as addresses and phone numbers—of emigrants from her municipality. Haçkaj claims this was part of a broader effort to sway diaspora voters in favor of the ruling party. Speaking to reporters after submitting the complaint, Haçkaj stated, “We have submitted documents showing how citizens in the diaspora, with their addresses and phone numbers, were systematically registered for patronage purposes—hundreds of them. We have filed charges against Balla, Balluku, Çuçi, and Kumbaro. In Greece, the diaspora was registered en masse. We have previously raised these concerns with SPAK, the Central Election Commission, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, and today we are formalizing them again” (BalkanWeb, April 2025).

Violation of Electoral Code and Call for Urgent Action

The complaint alleges that these actions constitute a clear violation of Albania’s Electoral Code, which strictly forbids any attempt to influence or monitor the voting decisions of citizens, especially those residing abroad. Advocacy organizations argue that compiling personal data for electoral purposes undermines the secrecy and integrity of the voting process.

Haçkaj has called for SPAK to act swiftly, noting, “We trust SPAK. We want results to come out before the certification of the elections, because afterward, nobody will care anymore.”

Warning to Emigrants: Protect the Secrecy of the Vote

In addition to calling for an investigation, Haçkaj urged Albanian emigrants not to photograph or publicize their ballots, warning that such actions are criminal offenses under the Albanian penal code. “I call on citizens not to publish their votes, as this is covered by the Penal Code and is punishable by three months to three years in prison. We must protect the secrecy of the vote with all the means at our disposal,” he told BalkanWeb.

Awaiting SPAK’s Response

As the parliamentary elections draw nearer, these allegations have intensified scrutiny of how Albania’s political parties and state officials interact with the diaspora, a voting bloc that could be crucial in closely contested races. As of now, SPAK has yet to issue an official response to the latest complaint.

Image:
Mirditor22, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons