Albanian prosecutors of general and special jurisdiction from Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organised Crime and representatives from Central Election Commission enhanced their knowledge and skills in prevention, investigation and adjudication of electoral offences ahead of the 2025 parliamentary election. Considering the significant threats that electoral offences pose to election integrity and in general to the country’s democracy, the training focused on providing both international and domestic legal insights, practical tools, and investigative techniques to uphold fair and transparent electoral processes and ensure the accountability of political parties and campaign financing.

A two-day training, organised by the European Union and the Council of Europe Action against Economic Crime in Albania in close co-operation with the Albanian School of Magistrates was attended by 65 prosecutors of general and special jurisdiction especially from special units established for prevention and investigation of electoral offences in the framework of 2025 parliamentary election as well as from representatives of Central Election Commission. 

Based on practical examples from European countries and Albanian context, the participants deepened their understanding on typologies of political and electoral finance offences, on investigating illicit campaign financing and identifying red flags in political party reports, applying various investigative techniques and tools on financial investigation of these offences as well as on the main principles of fair, impartial and timely adjudication and effective sanctioning of electoral offences. One of the key conclusions highlighted by experts from the Council of Europe and the School of Magistrates was the crucial role of inter-institutional cooperation, particularly between oversight institutions such as the Central Election Commission and law enforcement agencies, including the police and prosecutors, in ensuring the proactive, real-time, and transparent identification, investigation, and adjudication of electoral offences to safeguard election integrity.

This activity was organised by the Action against Economic Crime in Albania, as part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.