Economic assistance in Elbasan is suspected of having been used to secure votes in the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025. According to an investigative file from the Elbasan Prosecutor’s Office, dozens of families are suspected of having been included in the economic assistance scheme so they would vote for then-candidate Sara Mila.
Another fact that emerged during the investigation concerns the period after the elections. Of the 60 families verified by the prosecution, 55 were found to have been removed from the economic assistance scheme in May and June 2026.
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According to the investigative materials included in the case file, employees of the Social Services Office in Elbasan are suspected of artificially increasing the number of families receiving assistance during the election campaign.
The investigation found that applications for some residents were submitted by the institution’s own employees. Moreover, some people listed as recipients of economic assistance are suspected of having been outside Albania and living abroad.
In statements to prosecutors, Social Services employees said that in March 2025, after the election campaign began, the head of the institution had asked them to increase the number of families receiving economic assistance.
An important part of the evidence gathered for the case consists of communications between Social Services employees and the institution’s managers. According to the investigation, these communications also mention MP Sara Mila.
The Elbasan Prosecutor’s Office investigated suspicions that economic assistance had been used to support the election campaign, then forwarded the materials to SPAK to investigate the MP’s possible role.
The case file also notes that most of the families examined lost their eligibility for assistance after the elections ended.
“Checks on the benefits received by the individuals listed in the seizure order dated 29.05.2026, concerning the provision of economic assistance for the period 01.10.2024–01.04.2025, found that around 55 of the 60 families in the investigation sample were removed from the Economic Assistance scheme in May and June 2026,” the Elbasan Prosecutor’s Office case file states.
According to the same document, the removals took place after the prosecution had opened its investigation and begun summoning public officials to give statements.
Meanwhile, Sara Mila appeared at SPAK this Wednesday, where she gave explanations in connection with the case. After leaving the institution, she said she was fighting for her dignity and, as she put it, to put an end to political attacks against her.
Asked about suspicions that economic assistance may have been used to secure votes in her favor, the MP gave no specific answer, saying the case was under investigative secrecy.
Sara Mila continues to hold her parliamentary seat for now, while the investigation is expected to shed more light on how applications for economic assistance were handled in Elbasan, the role of administrative staff, and whether there was political interference in the process of awarding the benefits.
Fifty-five of the 60 families examined no longer receive economic assistance, while suspicions that the scheme was used for electoral purposes remain under investigation.
