Tirana's mayor, held in pretrial detention, addresses residents through an SI avatar
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
An SI double already speaks on behalf of a politician, and power is learning to live in a world where the one "speaking" is not necessarily the person.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, who has been in custody since February 2025 on charges of corruption and financial crimes, remains the legitimate mayor. He posted on Instagram a video address by his SI avatar, in which it promised free meals for schoolchildren. The mayor's duties have been delegated to several deputies; on October 5 Veliaj signed decisions appointing two new deputy mayors. Municipal elections are scheduled for the first half of 2027. This follows the September 2025 precedent when the SI model Diella became Albania's first virtual official and took over public procurement.
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