The year 2025 marked a decline in the number of requests for the right to information from journalists and civil society representatives, which, according to them, comes from the tactics followed by institutions to withhold information, causing discouragement and loss of trust.
In the 2025 Annual Report submitted to the Parliament, the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection, IDP, reported a decrease in the number of requests for information from journalists and civil society compared to the previous year. According to the Commissioner, this decrease in requests can be linked to the improvement of proactive transparency of public authorities.
“The comparative analysis shows an improvement in proactive transparency, also reflected in the reduction in the number of requests from civil society and journalists,” the report states.
But beyond this institutional optimism, journalists who deal with institutions and the need for information every day emphasize that the decline in requests does not come from transparency, but from discouragement, loss of trust, and what they perceive as deliberate strategies by institutions to delay information until it loses its news value.
Journalists say that in practice, many state institutions have made failure to respond the norm, forcing them to enter the labyrinth of complaints to the Commissioner.
For Citizens Channel journalist Elira Kadriu, this is a real tactic.
“There are institutions that are so hermetic that you can never get an answer unless you delegate a complaint to the Information Commissioner. I mention here the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture or, in some cases, even the Municipality of Tirana,” said Kadriu. She adds that this wait, which often goes up to a month, makes the news impossible.
Journalist Osman Stafa also says that this practice has made him give up and give up on using his right to information. “Currently, I reserve the right to file requests because I don’t get answers to what I ask for. Every time I ask, they bring up problems… All I have to do is go to court, but that takes up to 5 years,” Stafa said in a phone conversation.
The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection has presented in its annual report a generally positive or improving situation for transparency in the country.
In its report to the Assembly, IDP notes that the vast majority of monitored institutions meet the requirements of the law for proactive transparency, having a transparency program and a coordinator for the right to information.
The Commissioner also notes that 36% of institutions that have received requests for information claim to have responded within a short period of 3 days.
The report notes that the total number of requests for information increased last year, but most of them came from citizens seeking information on personal matters. Meanwhile, the number of requests from journalists or civil society organizations seeking information of public interest fell by 10%.
On the contrary, the number of complaints against journalists violating the right to information law has increased.
The 2025 report data shows that the vast majority of complaints, 385 of them, were filed against central government institutions and their subordinate ones. Local government ranks second with 293 complaints, while 183 complaints are against other public authorities. This geography of complaints shows that the greatest resistance to accountability stems precisely from the center of government, where the largest power and budget are concentrated.
According to the Commissioner himself, the most frequent refusals relate to topics with direct social and economic impact. Institutions appear to hold information on how the public budget is spent, construction permit files, as well as sensitive data from the health sector. The main reasons for refusal relate to personal data, trade secrets and investigative secrets, which also account for the largest number of cases of refusal of information.
Meanwhile, despite the number of complaints and the fact that many institutions delay providing information for months, the penalties for these violations are minimal. The balance of sanctions shows that the Commissioner has only made 33 decisions on the number of complaints, referring to the fact that some were resolved during the complaint process, of which 20 were orders to provide information, 11 were refusals and only 2 were fines. This lack of financial sanctions has been seen by experts and journalists as one of the reasons why institutions often choose to knowingly violate the law.
The document identifies "voluminous and complex requests" or requests that have a "multi-year timeframe" as problematic, arguing that these require additional commitment.
The Commissioner also raises concerns about the use of the Right to Information Act for questions and requests for comment. “Requests in the form of questions or statements to the media, addressed to public authorities or officials that exceed the scope of the law,” the IDP report states.
Cases of this nature may arise from the lack of knowledge of the legislation by the requesters, but it often happens even though institutions insist that even such requests be referred through the coordinator's office, using this as a means to delay responses for at least 10 working days.
The annual data of the Commissioner for the Right to Information suggests that institutions may provide more answers to ordinary citizens, but they take care to systematically harass media professionals when they seek information of high public interest.
“Gazetarët të cilët lëvrojnë gazetarinë e thelluar rrjedhimisht kanë nevojë për informacionet, dokumentet dhe qëndrimet e institucioneve shtetërore, duke e kthyer gati në kusht dërgimin e kërkesës për Informacion, por ajo që marrin zakonisht përkthehet në zvarritje në kohë, përgjigje të cekëta dhe jo shteruese, duke dekujaruar gazetarët që ta ndjekin më tej për shkak të presionit të kohës,” tha Geri Emiri, drejtues i Amfora.al.
Gazetarët vënë në dukje se mjaft institucione i lënë kërkesat e gazetarëve tërësisht pa përgjigje, në pritje që ata të tërhiqen, “të harrojnë” apo që informacioni i kërkuar të humbasë aktualitetin.
“Kjo shpesh bën që një tematikë e caktuar ose të raportohet me shumë vonesë, ose të dalë jashtë kontekstit… Kjo taktikë, mendoj se shpesh është e qëllimshme, me synimin për të dekurajuar punën e gazetarëve,” thotë Elira Kadriu, ndërsa i referohet vonesave të institucioneve për të kthyer përgjigje, qoftë edhe refuzim të dhënies së informacionit.
Edhe Erblin Vukaj, redaktor në Citizens.al, thotë se shpesh heq dorë nga kërkesa dhe nga ankimi për shkak të kohës dhe pamundësisë për të ndjekur temën.
“Në tërësi e di që kjo do të më kërkonte kohë shtesë për të pritur dhe nga tema që kam ndjekur e kam gjykuar si të pamundur pritjen e mëtejshme në raport me vlerën e informacionit,” thekson Vukaj.
Ai shton se institucione si Agjencia e Zhvillimit të Territorit, Agjencia Kombëtare e Planifikimit të Territorit apo Bashkia e Tiranës kanë krijuar një prirje për të mos dhënë informacion pa u ankuar. “Kjo ndërfutje në hallka burokratike kthehet në një torturë më vete dhe i ngjan një strategjie të mirëfilltë të institucioneve,” tha Vukaj.
Ky dekurajim i gazetarëve përkthehet në “statistika pozitive” në raportin e Komisionerit. Gazetari Isa Myzyraj e shpjegon paradoksin me tërheqjen e gazetarëve nga e drejta për të kërkuar zbatimin e ligjit.
“Kur procedurat janë të ndërlikuara dhe kërkojnë burime të konsiderueshme kohe, unë zgjedh të mos ndjek ankesat, duke krijuar te Komisioneri një perceptim të rremë mbi përmirësimin e situatës së transparencës,” analizoi Myzyraj.
Sipas tij, procesi i kërkimit të informacionit dhe ankimit te Komisionerit “nuk përputhet me natyrën e punës së gazetarëve, të cilët kanë nevojë për informacion të shpejtë dhe efektiv.”
Burokracia e zgjatur dhe fakti që institucionet rrallë ndëshkohen, ka bërë që një pjesë e gazetarëve të heqin dorë plotësisht nga ky mekanizëm ligjor.
“Mua më ka rënë besimi që do marr përgjigje, nuk dërgoj më kërkesa sepse e di që nuk marr përgjigje,” tha për BIRN gazetari Osman Stafa.
Gazetarë të tjerë vazhdojnë të shtyjnë përpara kufijtë e transparencës, që ndonjëherë ka rezultate dhe shpeshherë jo.
"Personally, I think there is a lot of information that should be public, but it is not. However, I see requests for information as an opportunity to understand more. I have often received useful information from them, while other times they have not met expectations at all," said Ola Mitre, an environmental journalist, considering persistence as a necessity for increasing transparency./reporter.al
