Catholic Church Warns Albanians Against Vote-Selling

“We appeal to the conscience of citizens not to vote for candidates who are known for their criminal or corrupt past," an open letter from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference said on Tuesday.

“Even an election boycott or a blank ballot is an option and a voice that must be heard and a right that must be used in specific conditions. If any of the candidates doesn’t fulfil the criteria, then a boycott becomes a moral duty,” the letter said.

Albanians will vote on June 21 to elect local councillors and mayors but allegations are rife that some of the candidates have a criminal past or are suspected of being corrupt.

The Democratic Party in Opposition said that at least two candidates from the ruling coalition are linked with criminal activities while the pro-government media denounced one of the opposition candidates as having a brother convicted in Italy of drug trafficking.

About 10 per cent of Albanians are Catholic, concentrated mainly in Tirana and the north of the country.

The church issued a damning statement before the last general elections in June 2013, saying that it had information about large-scale vote buying in the country and urging its believers and Albanians in general to oppose such practices.

In the upcoming local elections, Albanians will elect 61 new mayors and about 1,500 councillors.

BIRN