Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Berisha claimed the mass distribution of legalization documents was part of an orchestrated effort by the ruling Socialist Party to manipulate the electoral process.

“In total, over 6,000 legalization permits were issued. If each one secured even 3 to 5 votes, you can imagine the scale of vote-buying,” he claimed.

“In Strasbourg, the Council of Europe delegation’s election monitoring report clearly condemned the interference in the May 11 vote, calling it a serious stain on what was already an electoral farce,” Berisha said.

He pointed to recommendations in the report that, according to him, confirm the existence of a “party-state” system in Albania. “The report calls for separating the party from the state. It confirms that Albania operates under a fused political and state structure,” he added.

Berisha also cited the findings of the report, saying it calls for reforming the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK), which he accused of being “co-author of the electoral crime against the Albanian people.”

Berisha claimed that future disclosures would reveal how property titles and construction permits were also used to sway voters.

“This is just one aspect of the misuse of executive power for electoral gain. More evidence involving construction permits and rural development authorizations will be released in the coming days,” he stated.

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Responding to comments on his “Sy m’Sy” social media segment on Tuesday, the government head stated that the ruling Socialist Party has never been involved in the phenomenon of voter bribery and will never buy votes.

Referring to an alleged vote-buying case reported by the media a day ago, PM Rama accused the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) of involvement in vote-buying practice, casting doubt about origin of the huge amounts of money DP has committed to buy votes and pay a foreign campaign manager.

“We have no money for votes. We have never been involved in such practice and we will never do,” PM Rama said, urging everyone not to involve in vote-buying or selling, saying the practice is a serious crime and harshly punishable.

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