Free Elections and Legal Proceedings for Criminal Offenses against them, 2005-2021

Open Data Albania is engaged in bringing up to date the shifts and volume of criminal offenses with an electoral background in Albania, during the last sixteen years. The data has been extracted from the  Statistical Yearbooks of the Ministry of Justice.

The current Penal Code contains twelve articles, which provide for crimes and criminal misdemeanors that affect electoral processes. Only in 2012, the legislator added four articles with provisions for criminal offenses with an electoral background, and in 2016, another three articles were added.

Respectively, in the criminal code there are several articles that provide for criminal offenses against free elections and the democratic electoral system: Article 325 Obstructing subjects for election in representative bodies; Article 326 Falsification of documents and election results; Article 326/a Deliberate damage to electoral material; Article 327 Violation of the secrecy of voting; 327/a Voting more than once or without being identified; Article 328 Active corruption in elections; 328/a Use of public office for political or electoral activity; Article 329 Intimidation or violence against election participants; Article 330 Hindering of the Voter; 330/a Dereliction of duty by members of election commissions; Article 331 Violation of the right to choose; 331/a Illegal receipt or use of identification documents; Article 332 Abuse of military authority; 332/a Abuse of police authority.

Legal proceedings can also be initiated based on the Electoral Code, which in its provisions details criminal offenses, which are only referred to in the Criminal Code. Actions punishable under the Electoral Code are Deliberately damaging or removing the seal outside the polling station (Article 103), Refusal to count the box accepted as regular (Article 115), Allowing a voter to vote more than once or on behalf of other voters (Article 106).

In 2007, owing to the Electoral Code, 55 court proceedings were initiated and 55 individuals convicted; in 2011, 1 court proceeding were initiated and 9 convictions were attained, in 2018, 4 court proceedings and 6 convictions; in 2019, 2 court proceedings and 2 convictions, in 2020, 6 court proceedings were initiated and 7 convictions were attained and in 2021, there were 7 court proceedings initiated and 4 convictions as a result.

Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Ministry of Justice
Comments and Analyses: Open Data Albania

Table: Legal Proceedings for Criminal Offenses Infringing Electoral Processes 2005-2021
Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Ministry of Justice
Comments and Analyses: Open Data Albania

In Albania, in the last seventeen years, there has been a total of eight general and local election processes. According to the official statistics of the judiciary, during these eight electoral processes, a total of 133 cases were prosecuted for crimes and criminal misdemeanors with an electoral background, followed by 268 individuals convicted. Based on the provisions of the Electoral Code, a total of 75 proceedings were initiated, followed by 83 inidividuals convicted.

Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Ministry of Justice
Comments and Analyses: Open Data Albania

The criminal offense, which has been more frequently consumed during the election processes in the years 2005-2021, is Falsification of documents and election results. This criminal offense coincides with Article 326 of the Criminal Code. In the years under review, 30 court proceedings and 90 individual convictions were recorded in connection to this article. The falsification of documents and election results is carried out with the aim of changing the result of the elections, by presenting in them data, which are known to be incorrect, by replacing the correct ones with false ones or by illegally inserting additional ballots into the boxes. The second paragraph of Article 326 provides the qualifying circumstances when this act is committed by the persons who have the duty to administer the election process, or has brought serious consequences in the administration of the voting process, has damaged the integrity of the election results or has brought about their invalidity. The legislator has provided a penalty measure for this criminal offense from 3 to 7 years in prison.

Other criminal offenses, which are foreseen under this section, present relatively low figures for cases processed by the court and convicted perpetrators. During the 2005-2021 years, Voting more than once or without identification has marked 43 (all convicted in 2021) individual convictions, Deliberate damage to electoral material has marked 21 perpetrators, Violation of the secrecy of voting has marked 11 perpetrators, Obstruction of electoral subjects has marked 6 perpetrators. For some other criminal offences, no judicial proceedings have been recorded, for example, Use of public office for political or electoral activity, Hindering of the voter, Dereliction of duty by members of election commissions and Abuse of police authority.  

Source: Statistical Yearbooks of the Ministry of Justice
Comments and Analyses: Open Data Albania

The subject of criminal offenses with an electoral background can also be an appointee or office-holder, such as persons responsible for electoral administration, employees who exercise state functions, those exercising duties in public and non-public education and the military.

The criminal offense, for which the legislator has provided for the most severe sanction, is Intentional damage to electoral material under specific circumstances, which coincides with Article 326/a, second paragraph. For article 326/a, second paragraph, the Penal Code has provided a prison sentence of three to eight years.

A phenomenon like vote buying, reported by citizens, local and international observers in recent election processes, coincides with actions provided for in Article 328, Active corruption in elections. This article stipulates that offering or giving money or material goods, making promises for jobs or for other favors in any form, in order to obtain the signature for the candidate’s presentation quota, to vote in a certain manner or to participate or not in the voting, constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment from six months to two years. Acceptance of money, material goods, promises and other favors against the performance of the above actions, constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by a fine. This article, amended in the Criminal Code in 2012, recorded only 6 court proceedings concluded in the years under analysis and nine individual convictions. The sanction provided for such high-risk activity is extremely low, with a maximum penalty of two years.

Download excel: Free Elections and Legal Proceedings for Criminal Offenses against them, 2005-2021
Comments and Analyses: Open Data Albania
Contributed by: Griselda Rruci
Translated by: Rezarta Cushaj