Celibashi letter to political parties/ "Electronic voting only in two districts, we don't have time"

2024-10-11 14:01:00, Politikë CNA

Celibashi letter to political parties/ "Electronic voting only in two

Head of the CEC, Ilirjan Celibashi

As there is less than a year left from the parliamentary elections, the head of the CEC, Ilirjan Celibashi, has sent a letter to the political parties.

Celibashi has stated that electronic voting in five districts cannot be done because the preparation period is insufficient.

He has proposed that electronic voting be done only in the districts of Elbasan and Durrës, as he has emphasized that he also has previous experience in logistics.

Full letter:

Following the previous communications of the Central Election Commission (CEC) with you on the possibility of developing electronic voting in 5 districts, in the elections for the Assembly of Albania in 2025, let me bring to your attention that this voting method in this number of circles cannot be developed. The period from today until April 20, 2024, which is the first possible date for the elections in question, or until May 11, 2024, which is the last possible date for the 2025 elections, is insufficient for the preparation. of all the technical and human elements for the development of this type of voting in this number of counties.

However, assessing the interest and usefulness of the gradual extension of electronic voting, the CEC for the elections to the Assembly of Albania for 2025, proposes the development of this method of voting only in the district of Elbasan and that of Durrës.

In the district of Elbasan, electronic voting took place for the elections of May 14, 2023 in most of the voting centers of this district, which belong to the municipality of Elbasan. Therefore, if you consider the extension of electronic voting useful and interesting, it makes sense to first extend it to those electoral units where a part of the voters of this unit have previous experience with this type of voting.

I recommend the development of electronic voting in the Durrës district, for the logistical and human facilities that this district offers compared to other districts in the country. Durrës, due to its geographical terrain, road and other infrastructure, distance from Tirana (CEC), enables a better response from this institution for the preparation, development and administration of electronic voting.

On the other hand, this type of voting requires the engagement of a large number of people in the field. The practice of electronic identification has shown that for the Durrës district in general, the recruitment of special personnel for these electoral administrative processes is less challenging than in many other districts. The number and nature of the work performed by the personnel who will engage with electronic voting is almost the same as that of electronic identification.

The CEC considers that an opinion of the political parties regarding this proposal is necessary.

Therefore, please forward it to the CEC, no later than October 19, 2024./ CNA