Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party (PD), held a meeting with the party’s political leaders, four of whom were absent — specifically Ina Zhupa, Albana Vokshi, Jozefina Topalli, and Luçiano Boçi.

Speaking from PD headquarters, Berisha began his remarks by expressing gratitude to the Democratic supporters who entrusted him with their vote. He then focused on the election process, which he claimed was rigged.

“Gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of citizens who, under the most difficult conditions, voted freely for the values and ideals they believe in, and voted against a regime that, in the most anti-democratic tradition, has turned crime into a primary electoral force — turning crime into votes and votes into crime.

Special thanks to all the commissioners who, for three days, have been facing pressure and defending the vote of the Albanian people with integrity. I also thank the party structures involved in this process, which ultimately resulted in the greatest vote robbery in the 33-year history of political pluralism in Albania.

These elections clearly demonstrated that the greater the theft and corruption, the more they are transformed into votes — and behind them, the vote into crime.

The regime that stole the May 11 elections did not do so in secret; it did it publicly, using the full capacity of the narco-state through government decisions. It handed out 70 million euros in vote-buying gifts to 760,000 pensioners, who currently make up 48% of the electorate in Albania. This is a grave public violation,” Berisha declared.