Pressed if the SP breached the election code by promising a salary raise in the run-up to the election campaign, as well as by spending the election budget on planting trees, Celibashi emphasized that, “I can’t say anything at this moment, but it is important that the parties receive the funding that ask for the campaign, regarding the way they spend this fund falls within the remit of the law and there are provisions that must be followed.”

Regarding the decision to increase salaries prior to the local elections, he emphasized that, “everyone can have their comments on these acts from different angles, but what I have to assess in my capacity as the Commissioner is the compliance with the electoral code and we have found that those prohibitive stipulations apply to parliamentary elections alone.”

Asked about the allegations against three candidates for mayor, Celibashi said that, “as to the claims in two cases regarding the compliance with the law on decriminalization, the odds are that we will open the process of reviewing the claims on Wednesday.”

“If it is the case for in-depth investigation, we will refer it to the Prosecutor’s Office, otherwise the decision on these candidates will be taken by the Commissioner,” he said, adding that three more cases related to the registration of candidates are being examined, one for city and two for mayor. “We are waiting for the review of three cases related to the registration of candidates, it has nothing to do with the verification for decriminalization, but we are examining technical aspects of the registration. One case is about a candidate for city council member and two candidates for mayor, it is Devolli and Finiq municipality,” he said.

Celibashi announced that the technical aspect regarding the lottery for the registration of electoral subjects is under discussion.

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