Misuse of Public Money in Elections, Legislation and Institutions Do Not Guarantee the Process
The risk of misuse of public money in elections is high. AIS denunciation of the misuse of the Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Program in the April 25th Elections was rejected by the Administrative Investigation Institutions. They did not provide solutions for the violations found in the zone where Prime Minister Rama won. AIS reported that in violation of the Electoral Law, the Council of Ministers Decision dated 25 March and Durrës Municipal Council Decisions 12-24 April, transferred and executed in Durrës 6.1 Million Euro of non-emergency grants[1] with Individual beneficiaries benefitting 1-5 thousand USD. The Commissioner declared himself incompetent and rejected the lawsuit. The CSC, after AIS Appeal, accepted the investigation but ended it[2] with only one hearing where no Experts or challenged parties were heard. Based on the positions of the CSC and those of the Commissioner, the organization raises the alarm that the Reconstruction Fund, a medium-term budget program for 3-5 years, can be used in the next elections to compromise voters by giving individual grants a few hours before voting.
[1] https://spending.data.al/sq/treasury/list/year/2019/inst_code/2107001/pay_cat/6060099/from_date_reg/2021-03-25/to_date_reg/2021-04-30
