The Central Election Commission's tender for the maintenance of technological systems is turning into one of the most significant scandals in the administration of public funds. What on paper should have been a routine procedure with a limited fund of 43 million lek, has taken on the dimensions of a well-thought-out backstage, where the boundaries between law, procedure and arbitrary interventions have been completely erased.
At the center of this story is no longer simply the disqualification of rivals, but a much more serious question: who got their hands on the electronic procurement system?
The digital traces discovered by the Public Procurement Commission leave no room for an alibi. They lead to the name of Jona Josifi, at the time the acting Secretary General of the CEC, an official who legally had no affiliation or connection with the Bid Evaluation Commission that selected the winner.
The competition in the tender was clear. The company “EVOLVE WEB STUDIO” competed with 33 million lek, while “INSTANT.AL” with 33.7 million lek. On the other hand, the union of operators “INTELISOFT & WOW DIGITAL” presented the most expensive offer with 40.8 million lek.
However, the outcome defied all economic logic. The most expensive bid emerged victorious, thanks to a strange scoring operation in the technical criteria.
While the official commission consisted of three designated members consisting of Daniela Alimemeti, Redion Lila and Fatjona Sulaj, the KPP says that the user “Jonakqz Josifi” suddenly appeared in the electronic system. It was during the revaluation phase, in a lightning-fast manner, that the two operators with the cheapest prices were scored with 0 points in all five technical criteria. In contrast, the company with the most expensive offer was awarded maximum points. So a scandal in broad daylight, zero on one side, maximum on the other.
Behind the name of the beneficiary of this operation stands businessman Gëzim Hoxha through the company “INTELISOFT”. Hoxha is the brother of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, as well as the owner of the company “FIRST”, which is mentioned in many files of the AKSHI file as one of the main beneficiaries of public tenders.
Investigation data reveals that he has benefited from tens of millions of euros from the state treasury, where in only one case has he declared the benefit of around 60 million euros from the National Agency for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, money that was then transferred to related entities, including associates such as Ermal Beqiri.
Gëzim Hoxha's name also appears in the "Durana Tech Park" affair, where a group of related companies allegedly built a scheme to transfer activity to technology parks with the aim of avoiding taxes through new entities, but with the same real beneficiaries.
Thus, the scheme takes full shape, a senior official outside the commission illegally enters the system, eliminates rivals with zero points and elevates the company with the highest price, linked to the most talked-about names in technology tenders, to the top.
The reaction of the injured operators brought the matter to the KPP, which overturned the CEC's classification as illegal. But instead of reflecting, the CEC launched a battle to defend this result, arguing that everything was automated by the system. The KPP again rejected this claim, forcing the election institution to backtrack.
The CEC's defense took on even more aggressive nuances when it launched a parallel request to penalize the operator "INSTANT.AL", claiming that it had submitted false documents. However, the Public Procurement Agency did not swallow this version, blocking the attack and demanding direct official verifications at the source.
This event brings to light a serious paradox. The CEC, the institution tasked with guaranteeing the credibility, honesty, and free vote of citizens, is caught red-handed allowing the law to be circumvented in the administration of public funds.
In this story, the leaders of the CEC, including the chief commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi, also bear equal responsibility. When the Secretary General intervenes in the procurement system without a mandate and dictates the winner, this is no longer a technical leak that can be bypassed. It is a serious legal violation that requires immediate accountability for who authorized her intervention and in whose name the points were oriented.
The story becomes even more disturbing when, at the end of this procedure, names and companies mentioned in the AKSHI scandal, which is under investigation by SPAK, appear.
