By Dashnor Kaloçi
Part twenty-five
Memorie.al / The history of parliamentary elections in our country, or more accurately, the attempts at elections, have its origins in the era of Ottoman rule when Albania was part of the Turkish Empire. One of the first Albanian deputies elected to the first Turkish Parliament, which opened its proceedings in December 1877, was Abdyl Frashëri. However, that parliament did not last long, as it was dissolved by the Sultan himself due to the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War. Following the dissolution of Turkey’s first parliament, there were several other attempts at elections, but they all failed for various reasons. The first regular elections in Albania were held only in 1908, when the Young Turks came to power in Turkey. Those elections were not direct but were held through representation, otherwise known as the two-tier voting system (secondary electors).
The first Turkish Parliament opened on December 10, 1908, and out of 266 deputies, 27 were Albanians elected from the four vilayets of Albania. At that time, members of the “Committee of Union and Progress” in Turkey, which included many Albanians, split and grouped into three political factions. The first group was “Union and Progress” (the Turkish-Macedonian party) with 164 deputies, consisting of 130 Turks, 5 Arabs, 1 Greek, and 15 Albanians, led by Hasan Prishtina, a deputy from Kosovo.
The second group, called “Liberal Union” (the Greek-Albanian party), consisted of 45 deputies and included 12 Albanians led by Ismail Qemali. Among the other Albanian deputies in the Turkish Parliament at the time were Esad Pashë Toptani, Nexhip Draga, Rexhep Pashë Mati, etc. After 1908, there were several other elections where Albanians continued to vote for their representatives in the Turkish Parliament, a process that lasted until November 1912, when Independence was proclaimed and Ismail Qemali was elected head of the Government.
Meanwhile, the first parliamentary elections in Albania took place in the spring of 1921, as they had not been held until then due to World War I, in which Albania was also involved. The first Albanian Parliament opened on April 21 of that year; the first building of the Albanian Parliament was located where the Academy of Sciences stands today. In that parliament, 76 deputies participated, elected following a relatively regular process from the nine prefectures of the country: Berat, Durrës, Elbasan, Gjirokastra, Korça, Kosovo, Shkodra, Vlora, and the Albanian colony in the USA.
As in the past, those elections were conducted through a system of representation, or secondary electors, where based on territorial division, representatives of each province had the right to elect their deputy. The aforementioned, along with a brief history of parliamentary elections in Albania from that period until 1991, has been published by Memorie.al in previous issues. Here, we are publishing the complete Basic Statute of the Albanian Republic (the Constitution) of 1925, where a special place is held by the parliamentary election legislation of that time, as well as the Parliament’s regulations regarding the rights and duties of deputies, published by the “NIKAJ” Printing House in 1925.
Continued from the previous issue…
The Fundamental Statute of the Albanian Republic (1925)
(Tirana, “Nikaj” Printing House 1925)
Penal Code 1928
– SECOND BOOK –
Crimes
TITLE VII:
CHAPTER V:
Misdemeanors regarding public spectacles, establishments, and exercises.
CHAPTER III:
Misdemeanors regarding signs or apparatuses of a public service.
ARTICLE 524. – Anyone who omits to place the signs and pathways prescribed by regulations to prevent dangers arising from works performed or items left in places frequented by the public, shall be punished by a light fine of up to three hundred gold francs; and when the act is of significant importance depending on the circumstances, a light imprisonment of up to twelve days may be added to the fine.
Anyone who arbitrarily removes the aforementioned signs shall be punished by a light fine of fifty to five hundred gold francs, to which light imprisonment of up to twenty days may be added.
ARTICLE 525. – Anyone who, arbitrarily, extinguishes lanterns or lights serving for public illumination, or removes apparatuses or other signs indicated in the preceding article and intended for public service, shall be punished by a light fine of up to two hundred gold francs.
ARTICLE 526. – Anyone who, practicing a trade that involves the use of fire, fails to periodically clean the shop’s chimney, shall be punished by a light fine of ten to two hundred gold francs; likewise, a light fine of up to one hundred gold francs shall be imposed on owners or tenants who fail to periodically clean the chimneys of the houses they inhabit when the failure to clean may pose a public danger.
CHAPTER IV:
Dangerous removal and placement of items
ARTICLE 527. – Anyone who throws or pours into an enclosed private space shared by two or more families, items that may strike or soil persons, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to ten days or a light fine of up to one hundred gold francs.
ARTICLE 528. – Anyone who, without taking proper precautions, places on windows, roofs, terraces, or other such places, or hangs therein items which, if they fall, may strike or soil persons, shall be punished by a light fine of up to fifty gold francs.
If the offender is unknown, the punishment shall be imposed on the tenant or the possessor of the building, provided they were in a position to prevent said offense.
CHAPTER V:
Misdemeanors regarding the custody of insane or guided persons
ARTICLE 529. – Anyone who allows insane persons under their custody to roam freely, or who fails to immediately notify the authorities when they escape from custody, shall be punished by a light fine of up to two hundred and fifty gold francs.
ARTICLE 530. – Anyone who, without immediately notifying the Authority, or without obtaining its authorization when required, agrees to take custody of persons known to be mentally ill, or allows them their liberty, shall be punished by a light fine of up to five hundred gold francs, and when the act is of importance, light imprisonment of up to one month may be added to the fine.
ARTICLE 531. – To the punishments established in the preceding articles shall be added the suspension of the exercise of profession or trade, when the offender is a person in charge of directing an asylum or practicing a health profession.
ARTICLE 532. – Anyone who, being the guide of another to lead them to a specific place abandons them without any reason or deceives them through craftiness in guidance, shall be punished, for this act alone, by light imprisonment of up to six months.
CHAPTER VI:
Negligence in the custody and mismanagement of animals and wheeled transport vehicles
ARTICLE 533. – Anyone who allows to roam freely or fails to guard, according to the measures prescribed in regulations, wild animals or dangerous beasts which they possess or have in their custody, and in case of suspicion that these animals are rabid, fails to immediately notify the Authority, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to one month.
ARTICLE 534. – Anyone who, in open spaces, fails to guard or releases animals intended for riding or pulling, whether untied or harnessed, or leads them without sufficient capacity or entrusts them to untrained persons, or by leading or harnessing them poorly or by provoking or frightening them, endangers the safety of others, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to one month.
If the perpetrator is a driver or conductor subject to a license, the suspension of their profession or trade for a period of up to one month shall also be imposed.
ARTICLE 535. – Anyone who, on roads or in populated areas, or in places open to the public, drives animals, carts, automobiles, and other such transport vehicles in a manner dangerous to the safety of persons or property, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to twenty days, or a light fine of up to two hundred gold francs; and if the offender is a driver or a conductor subject to a license, the suspension of their profession or trade for a period of up to one month shall also be imposed.
CHAPTER VII:
Misdemeanors regarding common danger
ARTICLE 536. – Anyone who, either through negligence or lack of skill causes a risk of significant damage to property by any means, shall be punished by a light fine of up to two hundred gold francs or light imprisonment of up to twenty days.
If the act also constitutes a violation of regulations pertaining to a trade, commerce, or industry, and the law does not provide otherwise, the punishment shall be light imprisonment of six to thirty days and the suspension of the trade or profession for up to one month.
ARTICLE 537. – Anyone who, by any means, violates the measures taken by the Authority against contagious diseases or other regulations for the prevention of the risk or spread of such diseases, shall be punished by light imprisonment of fifteen days to two months or a light fine of fifty to five hundred gold francs.
ARTICLE 538. – Anyone who, by any means, violates orders or measures taken by the authorities against smallpox or other contagious diseases of animals or livestock shall be punished by light imprisonment of five days to one month, or a light fine of twenty-five to five hundred gold francs.
Violators of articles 537 and 538 shall also be placed under special observation or custody of the Public Security Authority for as long as the danger of the spread of those diseases persists.
ARTICLE 539. – Anyone who conceals from the Authority clothing, furniture, or other items belonging to a person who has died of a contagious disease, or fails to comply with orders given for the destruction or cleaning of such items, or possesses or knowingly sells or buys or offers them for sale, shall be punished by light imprisonment of ten days to two months or a light fine of fifty to one thousand gold francs, and the items in question shall be confiscated and destroyed.
ARTICLE 540. – Anyone who, during an outbreak of smallpox or other diseases of animals or beasts, fails to comply with orders taken by authorities against the spread of such diseases, as well as anyone who fails to isolate their animals suffering from such diseases so they do not mingle with other animals, or keeps them hidden or knowingly buys, sells, or offers for sale animals or meat from sick or dead animals, or fails to comply with orders given for their destruction, shall be punished by a light fine of ten to two hundred gold francs, and when the act is significant, depending on the circumstances, light imprisonment of up to fifteen days may be added to the fine.
In the case of the above paragraph, as well as in those of articles 537 and following, if the disease spread due to the offender’s act, the punishment in all these cases shall be light imprisonment of one to three months or a light fine of two hundred to two thousand gold francs.
ARTICLE 541. – Anyone who buries a deceased person outside of designated cemeteries shall be punished by a light fine of fifty to five hundred gold francs or light imprisonment of five days to two months, and the offender shall be obliged to exhumate the deceased and bury them in the designated places.
ARTICLE 542. – Anyone who, in wells, cisterns, springs, rivers, or streams, the waters of which are used for drinking or for preparing food or drinks, throws foul items or other things that cause revulsion when used, as well as anyone who defiles them, shall be punished by light imprisonment of five days to one month, or a light fine of twenty to two hundred gold francs.
ARTICLE 543. – Anyone who fails to respect the authorities’ orders for cleaning shall be punished by a light fine of up to one hundred gold francs, and in case of recidivism of the same offense, shall be punished by a light fine of thirty to three hundred gold francs, to which light imprisonment of up to ten days may be added.
ARTICLE 544. – Anyone who prepares for public use foods which, considering the quality of the substances, are or may be harmful to health, as well as anyone who keeps foods for sale in places and containers or in a manner that may damage health, or knowingly sells food items that are spoiled, rotten, or filthy, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to twenty days and a light fine of ten to one hundred gold francs, and in case of recidivism of the same offense, by light imprisonment of five days to one month and a light fine of no less than one hundred gold francs.
TITLE III:
Misdemeanors regarding public morality
CHAPTER I:
Gambling
ARTICLE 545. – Anyone who, in public places or places open to the public, maintains a gambling establishment or provides a venue for gambling games, shall be punished by light imprisonment of one to three months and a light fine of twenty to fifty gold francs; and in case of recidivism of the same offense, they shall be punished by light imprisonment of two to six months and a light fine of one hundred to one thousand gold francs.
If the offender has made this act a habit, the punishment shall be light imprisonment of three months to one year and a light fine of no less than three hundred gold francs.
ARTICLE 546. – Anyone who, without being among the offenders indicated in the preceding article, is caught gambling in a public place or a place open to the public, shall be punished by light imprisonment of up to twenty days or a light fine of ten to two hundred gold francs; and in case of recidivism of the same offense, the light imprisonment shall be from fifteen days to two months and a light fine of twenty-five to three hundred gold francs.
If the offender is a public official, this capacity constitutes an aggravating circumstance, and in addition to the aforementioned punishment, they shall also be punished by dismissal from office for a period of one to six months.
ARTICLE 547. – In all cases of gambling misdemeanors, the money wagered in the game, as well as the tools and objects used or intended for it, shall be confiscated.
ARTICLE 548. – For the purposes of the penal law, gambling is considered those games played for the purpose of profit, where winning or losing depends entirely or almost entirely on luck.
For the misdemeanors provided in the preceding articles, those places of private gatherings where compensation is required for the use of gaming tools or for the convenience of the game, as well as those places where, even without payment, entry and gambling are free, are also considered as open to the public./Memorie.al
Continued in the next issue…
