Prosecutor offices deal with 36 electoral violation cases

TIRANA, Feb. 20 – The General Prosecutor’s Office has been and remains committed to go after every criminal offence that infringes on the proper conduct of the electoral process, said a statement Tuesday. It said it would go after every criminal offence that infringed on the proper conduct of the electoral process or affected free elections and the democratic electoral system. On-duty groups consisting of prosecutors and officers of the judicial police were at the prosecutor’s offices of first instance in all districts. Prosecutor offices also said there were 36 denunciations registered in the district prosecutor’s offices by political subjects, candidates for mayor of municipalities and communes as well as various citizens. They cited the criminal offences provided in the Electoral Code as well as in Chapter X of the Criminal Code, dealing with criminal offences that affect free elections and the democratic electoral system, provided by articles 325 to 332 of the Criminal Code. “From 18 February 2007 and on-going, 36 denunciations have been deposited in the district prosecutor’s offices. After necessary verifications were performed, criminal proceedings for the majority of them were registered for the following criminal offences: Abandonment of duty by the members of the Electoral Commissions, which according to article 177 of the Electoral Code is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of from six months to two years; for threatening voters or candidates, articles 329 and 330 of the Criminal Code, which provide a punishment of up to two years’ imprisonment; irregularities of duty, abuse of duty and others,” it said. There have been cases of criminal proceedings of this nature in a number district prosecutor’s offices, with the highest number in Gjirokast첬 Fier, Berat, Shkod철and Tirana. We draw it to your attention that in addition to the legal punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment provided for violations of law by the Commissioners in cases of abandoning their duty or falsifying documents and the results of the elections, the Criminal Code protects the Commissioners and every citizen officially engaged in the electoral process when he is insulted, threatened or assaulted because of duty, as to which the perpetrator can be sentenced to up to three years’ imprisonment, the statement said.