The opposition contests Besnik Dervish's candidacy for a third term

2024-09-17 19:39:00, Aktualitet CNA

The opposition contests Besnik Dervish's candidacy for a third term

Loyal Dervish

Members of the opposition opposed the candidacy of Besnik Dervish for a third term as Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data, proposed by the Council of Ministers.

During a hearing held on Tuesday at the Laws Commission, Dervishi faced accusations of conflict of interest and incompetence in the performance of his duties in the first two mandates by opposition MPs.

Deputy Dhurata Çupi raised accusations that Dervishi, in an open conflict of interest, has decided to select a company with shareholders who are his relatives, as a certifying body for businesses and institutions that process personal data.

According to Çup, it is about the company Legal Cert, where one of the partners is Dervish's nephew and works as an analyst in the Prime Minister.

"Referring to the institution's website, it seems clear that this company is the only one accredited by the institution, creating a monopoly market in this sector," said Çupi, adding that this connection created spaces for controlled businesses to avoid possible sanctions from the institution.

She asked Commissioner Dervishi why he had selected this company as the only company with two authorizations for the certification of Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) for the protection of personal data.

In response, Dervishi said that he was not surprised by the attacks since his work produced costs and called Çupi's accusations "low".

"In this particular case, less than a quarter of the truth is taken and they try to treat it as if it happened," he said, adding that "the commissioner's office does not certify subjects".

"We promote on the commissioner's website the certifying bodies that are correct with the law," he said, referring to the case of the authorized company, claiming that other companies had not received this authorization "as they try to circumvent the law."

Çupi also raised accusations of nepotistic appointments of Dervish in the institution and questions about his involvement in private businesses such as the company Drymades Dream sh.pk in conflict of interest with public office.

But Dervish rejected these accusations.

"The law does not prohibit you from being a shareholder, and this applies both to me and to my grandson, but the law prohibits you from playing a leadership role, and I have not played a leadership role, especially since this belongs to a period perhaps earlier than 2017, which I don't remember," he said.

Meanwhile, the socialist MPs requested that the hearing should not be turned into an investigative session against the candidate.

Pandeli Majko asked Çupi to submit her denunciations to the responsible structures. But the opposition MPs continued to criticize Dervish's work at the head of the institution.

Oerd Bylykbashi asked the commissioner what punitive measures he has taken and what instruments he has sought to block the abuse of personal data in what he described as the system of patronage for electoral purposes by the Socialist Party.

The commissioner described the case as a leakage of personal data and said that the office headed by him has investigated the case and made the findings available to the investigative bodies for further action.

Besnik Dervishi is the only candidate in the race to head the office of the commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data. He has been the head of this institution since its creation in 2014./ BIRN