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Pressure to vote: How the patronage system was exported to immigrants

2025-12-02 18:19:41Politikë SHKRUAR NGA LULJETA PROGNI
Prime Minister Edi Rama during the meeting with the diaspora in Milan

In the parliamentary elections of May 11, many Albanians in the diaspora were unable to freely exercise their right to vote due to influence from their relatives in the administration or their social circle.

On the eve of the May 11 elections, Leonardi* received an unexpected message from Albania, but the response was almost instinctive.

"I'm sorry, I don't vote for those people. Don't ask me!"

The message arrived on his phone along with a plea to vote for the Socialist Party from his cousin originally from Tropoja, a public administration employee in Tirana.

But for the 50-year-old man who has been away from Albania for almost 30 years, and who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to aggravate a conflict within the tribe, the vote represents a painful family history that affects three generations.

With his grandfather on the run after the communists came to power in the mid-1940s and his father raised as an “enemy of the people,” Leonardi fled to Belgium when he was still young, in the early 1990s, never to return. Unlike him, his uncle’s son remained in Albania and built a career as a civil servant in the capital.

Although Albania enabled the diaspora vote for the first time in the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025, many immigrants were unable to freely exercise their right to vote, despite being thousands of kilometers away from their country of origin.

Through a questionnaire published online, dozens of diaspora voters told BIRN that they had received intimidating phone calls and messages from their parents, relatives in the administration or their social circle in Albania to vote mainly in favor of the ruling Socialist Party.

Other voters in the diaspora claimed the existence of indirect forms of influence; from unofficial applications inviting them to register to vote to harassing phone calls from election headquarters, which misused their personal data.

Evidence gathered by BIRN suggests that the notorious patronage system expanded beyond the country's borders in this year's elections, primarily exploiting public administration employees in Albania and their blood ties in the diaspora.

The true extent of the impact is unclear, but data obtained through the online questionnaire suggests that over 38 percent of voters faced at least some form of pressure aimed at influencing their vote in the May 11 parliamentary elections.

Voter pressure mechanisms are widely known in Albania, but their extension to voters living abroad is a worrying development for election observers.

According to Afrim Krasniqi, director of the Institute for Political Studies, the diaspora vote exported the Albanian model of elections to the West, contrary to expectations.

“The patronage system had the same effect both inside and outside the country, as long as the beneficiary was the same and the focus and offer were the same; job, career, access to state services or the social status of the family,” Krasniqi said.

"In conclusion, it can be said that with the experience in these elections, the diaspora vote did not expand or strengthen the practice of democratic elections, but legitimized the status quo," he added.

The Council of Ministers and the political leader of the Socialist Party for the Diaspora, Taulant Balla, did not respond to BIRN's questions by the time this article was published.

Domino effect 

After many years of discussions, Albanians abroad gained the right to vote for the first time since the fall of the communist regime in the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025. Among Albanians in the diaspora, about 246 thousand people registered to vote and almost 200 thousand of them voted through the postal system.

Although it was considered the main novelty of the elections, the diaspora vote followed the same trend as the domestic vote, even with a higher percentage in favor of the fourth term of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Socialist Party.

Opposition representatives and election observers explain this result with the tactics followed by the majority to establish a patronage system even beyond the borders of Albania. According to them, this was made possible through pressure exerted on administration employees to guarantee five, ten or more votes among their family or social circle in the diaspora.

Ted Kopliku, diaspora coordinator for the Democratic Party in the Shkodra region, told BIRN that many administration employees had complained to him during the electoral campaign that they had been put under pressure to secure votes in favor of the Socialist Party.

For this purpose, according to Kopliku, the Socialist Party had also created an application called "My Country", where public servants entered the names of people who had promised them their vote.

Kopliku says he had tested the application himself and was convinced that it was automatically fed from personal data sets owned by the Albanian state to ensure that the patronymic names were accurate.

"This application was only accessible to those who received the link from the Socialist Party, and on this account, each of the administration employees was forced to complete their list," said Kopliku.

"This is the most flagrant case where the SP has left its mark and SPAK should have already launched an investigation into this electoral crime," he stressed.

Florian Haçkaj, co-leader of the Diaspora for a Free Albania movement, also told BIRN that the pressure was widespread and had a domino effect from administration employees to their relatives living abroad. But Haçkaj added that such relationships were very difficult to denounce.

"One of us, his uncle's son, asked for confirmation of his vote after he was under pressure to fire him from his job. There are others who have faced such requests from family members, but also from friends, colleagues, or neighbors," Haçkaj told BIRN.

"I asked to denounce them publicly... but in such cases the answer comes: No, I don't want them to get hurt because of me," he added.

In one case, "Diaspora for a Free Albania" denounced to the Special Prosecutor's Office a list in the Municipality of Lushnja, through which people within the administration were forced to fill in a certain number of people willing to vote for the Socialist Party from the diaspora.

In a second case, the movement denounced the construction of the Vermoshi church in exchange for votes from the diaspora.

"In my opinion, this is pure corruption and justice should have been served," says Haçkaj, disappointed by the investigations.

Such networks broke down borders and expanded the practice of proxy voting abroad, disappointing expectations for free and independent voting by the diaspora.

Ermal Hasimja, a lecturer and political science researcher, told BIRN that the May 11 elections also lacked full guarantees for the accurate counting of diaspora votes.

"From what I've noticed, there has been considerable engagement by patronage activists even in the diaspora," said Hasimja.

"Their commitment to influence the vote is not illegal, but what is worrying is the fact that pressure from family members employed in the administration was also used," he added.

Pressure for the vote 

Throughout the three decades of transition, left and right governments in Albania have failed, with few exceptions, to organize free and fair elections.

In the May 11 elections, the OSCE-ODIHR observation mission noted a number of irregularities, led by the use of public administration to garner votes in favor of the ruling party.

"The ruling party benefited from the extensive use of administrative resources during the campaign, creating an unfair advantage of power. There were also many cases of pressure on voters, especially on public employees," the report said, noting that the elections were held in a polarized political situation.

The bitter taste of pressure was also experienced by many Albanian immigrants, who continue to maintain close ties with their relatives in Albania.

Xhenis Shehu po studionte fushatën elektorale në Rumani, vendin ku jeton prej dhjetë vitesh, kur mori një mesazh intimidues për zgjedhjet në vendin e saj të origjinës. Studiuese dhe eksperte e shkencave politike, Shehu u targetua si një votuese potenciale nga diaspora për zgjedhjet parlamentare të 11 majit në Shqipëri.

Përmes mesazhit, një i njohur i saj i kërkonte një nder; të votonte Partinë Socialiste në pushtet për shkak të lidhjeve të tij miqësore me një kandidat. Shehu i tha BIRN se u ndje e fyer dhe e zemëruar.

“Sigurisht që ndjeva irritim të madh,” kujton ajo për BIRN disa muaj më pas.

“Pretendoja të tregohej më tepër respekt për punën time dhe të kuptohej që vota ime ishte e pamanipulueshme, pikërisht për faktin se e di sa e vlefshme është shprehja e lirë e votës,” shtoi ajo.

Mbi 1500 kilometra në Perëndim të Rumanisë, Sokoli* u ndje gjithashtu i frustruar në prag të zgjedhjeve parlamentare të 11 majit, kur nisi të merrte telefonata gjithnjë e më të shpeshta nga prindërit e tij – pronarë të një biznesi të vogël në një qytezë në qarkun e Fierit.

Emigrant prej 10 vitesh në Gjermani, Sokoli i tha BIRN se gjatë gjithë fushatës zgjedhore prindërit e tij ishin kontaktuar nga persona të njohur, të cilët kërkonin me ngulm që djali i tyre emigrant të regjistrohej në zgjedhje dhe të votonte në favor të Partisë Socialiste.

Ai theksoi me keqardhje se prindërit dhe ai vetë iu nënshtruan presionit nga frika e ndonjë hakmarrjeje të mundshme ndaj biznesit.

“Sa herë shkonin te dyqani i prindërve kërkonin votën në mënyrë të pacipë. Ne ndjemë presion për të votuar kë donin ata, pasi dihet që votuesit monitorohen dhe dihet kush pritet te votojë kë, në një qytet të vogël jashtë Tiranës,” tha Sokoli për BIRN.

“Ndjesia ishte një acarim i brendshëm dhe frustrim, se qeverisja e padrejtë ishte po ashtu një arsye pse e lashë Shqipërinë,” shtoi ai.

Nga Britania e Madhe, Besa ndjeu një presion të një lloji tjetër.

Besa i tha BIRN se ishte larguar e zhgënjyer nga Shqipëria pas shumë përpjekjesh për të kontribuar në qytetin e saj të lindjes, në Gramsh. Në fushatën e zgjedhjeve të 11 majit, ajo nisi të merrte telefonata dhe mesazhe nga persona të panjohur në numrin e saj privat.

Njëri prej mesazheve vinte nga një numër i panjohur, por në foton e profilit kishte logon e Partisë Socialiste.

“U kontaktova në WhatsApp nga një numër që pretendonte të ishte Partia Socialiste, dega Elbasan. Më pyetën nëse e kisha dorëzuar votën dhe kur i përgjigja që e kisha dorëzuar më uruan ditën e mirë,” tha ajo.

Duke e përjetuar telefonatën si intimidim, Besa tha se e kishte pyetur personin përtej telefonatës se nga e kishte gjetur numrin e saj, duke e vënë në dijeni se përdorimi i numrit të telefonit pa lejen e saj përbënte shkelje.

Ajo shkoi edhe më tej, duke dorëzuar një ankesë në Komisionin Qendror të Zgjedhjeve për shkelje të të dhënave personale, por përgjigja që mori ishte gjithashtu zhgënjyese.

“They asked for more information within 24 hours, information that I had already submitted so I didn’t follow up on,” she added to BIRN.

Among the Albanians in the diaspora with whom BIRN spoke, not all had negative impressions of the voting process.

Kelvin Zifla, a resident of Austria, said he had voted freely and uninfluenced by any party or candidate for the direction of his vote, although he had heard from many acquaintances who had faced pressure.

Even Luan Zyka, who has lived in Greece for 20 years, says that no one contacted him before the elections, because as he says, "people and friends know my ideas."

“I am not an immigrant. My departure is a protest against the Ottoman Albanian politics and mentality,” said Zyka, speaking of a disappointing experience as a senior official in the Albanian administration in 2002-2004.

"No one has contacted me, but I heard from acquaintances that this phenomenon was happening," he added.

"The party worked for you" 

Before the campaign for the May 11 parliamentary elections had even begun, hundreds of administration employees in senior leadership roles traveled to the diaspora to engage their supporters.

But the Socialist Party's campaign focused mainly on Greece and Italy, the two neighboring countries that have hosted the largest number of Albanian immigrants over the years.

Without any hesitation about violating the law and civil servant ethics, some of the administration leaders appeared with photos and videos on social networks while campaigning for the diaspora vote.

One of them, an official in the Municipality of Mati, told BIRN on condition of anonymity that during a three-month period before the parliamentary elections, he had traveled every weekend to Athens, Greece, to mobilize the Mati community living there.

The official told BIRN that his engagement began after an order from his superior, who told him: "The party has worked for you, now it's your turn to give back with votes."

At his own expense, he traveled frequently to Greece, where he set up an electoral headquarters with the help of his relatives living in the neighboring country.

“I did not influence the direction of the vote, only that I helped hundreds of immigrants register for the May 11 elections,” the official told BIRN.

"I also engaged my family members in Greece, creating an electoral headquarters in support of the majority candidate," he concluded.

*Voters' names have been changed at their request to protect their anonymity./ BIRN


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