President of the Republic, Ilir Meta, urged the state institutions to investigate and fully uncover the ‘Patronageists Scandal’, regarding the Personal Data Release.

Meta has published this Monday an article of "Le Figaro", where it is talked about the patronageists scandal, which according to the French media helped Prime Minister Edi Rama to win a third term.

The head of state emphasizes that this is a scandalous violation of citizens' personal data and creates grounds for their misuse, especially by exposing to domestic or foreign criminal groups.

“The scandal of the theft of personal data of about 910 thousand citizens of Tirana from the State Public Registry and their misuse in the function of the April 25 elections, being used as a tool of blackmail, intimidation and pressure to secure the vote and support, deserves an investigation deep and versatile.

On April 12, 2021, April 19, 2021 and April 20, 2021, I officially asked in writing and publicly the SPAK (Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime) and the Prosecution to fully reveal the truth, the perpetrators and those who ordered this scandal, which is not only prohibited by Article 91 of the Electoral Code , but contains elements of some criminal offenses provided by the Criminal Code, ranging from abuse of office (Article 248 of the Criminal Code) consumed by officials, who have the duty to administer and protect this data, to "Use of office”.

The personal data of every citizen, which are stored in public institutions and administered in state databases, are personal, protected by law and are intended to be used only for the benefit of citizens and the state.

Any use of this data, even to supply other databases, created by a political party for its own purposes, is a scandalous violation of the personal data of the citizens of the Republic of Albania, which creates ground for the misuse of exposing them, in particular, to domestic or foreign criminal groups, senior officials of justice, the maintenance of public order, the sovereignty and national security of the country.

The patronageists scandal, which severely damaged Albania's image in the world, continuing to occupy space in prestigious international media, such as "Le Figaro", as well as any other electoral crime, deserves to be fully uncovered and without further procrastination, while perpetrators and their collaborators must be brought to justice,” Meta writes.