The Mayor of Vau i Dejës, Kristjan Shkreli, has testified in the Special Court as part of the trial against him, where he is a defendant by SPAK on charges of electoral corruption.
During his testimony, Shkreli denied offering or promising benefits in exchange for votes, stating that his communications with residents were only related to community issues.
“I have not offered or promised anything in exchange for votes. The village of Stajka has had problems with electricity since 2019. I make calls every day about the problems of the residents,” Shkreli told the court.
He also focused on the telephone communications included in the prosecution’s file, explaining that they are related to interventions to solve citizens’ problems.
“I can be on the wiretap today, yesterday I took another director because there was a problem with the lights in another village. I also take the hospital director when there are problems and I receive complaints,” declared the mayor.
Referring to one of the communications interpreted by the prosecution, Shkreli said that the phrase “fire it up” was not related to requests for votes, but to the organization of an electoral activity.
“The message that the prosecution is saying ‘give me your heart’ is that I asked for cheers and ovations at the electoral meeting, not that I asked for votes or offered material goods or jobs,” he said.
Shkreli also said that during the campaign he had called for greater participation in rallies, including activities organized by the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party.
“I asked for as many people as possible to come to the rally, both the SP and PSD ones. It was a tense situation. They called me 500 times about the problems of the residents, my phone was constantly ringing with complaints,” he said.
The mayor also touched on another communication involved in the investigation, where, according to him, a statement about electricity in the area was misinterpreted.
“Residents were without electricity for two weeks. One phrase that the prosecution says I said to residents, ‘I gave them the money,’ was to convince citizens that the line defect would be fixed. I did not give any money to OSHEE,” Shkreli declared.
The trial against Kristjan Shkreli continues at the GJKKO, while SPAK accuses him of electoral corruption. The mayor has denied the allegations and claimed that his actions were part of his institutional duty to respond to citizens’ concerns.