ATA: The vote of the diaspora and the implementation of this approach in the spring 2025 elections. How is the process running?

Nano: The Central Election Commission (CEC) is working intensively to meet its responsibilities in ensuring the voting rights of Albanian citizens living outside the territory of Albania. We are currently in the midst of drafting and approving the rules and regulations that will guarantee the preparation, conduct, and administration of out of country voting. The Regulatory Commission, as the responsible body for approving normative legal acts, is working diligently, as there are many technical aspects that need to be regulated. We are continuously consulting with organizations representing the diaspora, civil society organizations, and political parties to ensure that the normative acts for out of country vote are widely accepted and provide all the necessary safeguards for this process. We have approved the rules for registering out of country voters and preparing the voters’ list. We are now in the process of approving the detailed list of documentation required for the registration of voters who cast the ballot outside the territory of Albania.

ATA: How will Albanians who want to participate in this process, expected to start in March of next year, be able to register?

Nano: Every eligible voter who is abroad on the election date and wishes to exercise their voting right for the parliamentary elections from their location must register on the list of voters abroad. The registration of voters on the list of out of country voters is based on the voter’s will to exercise their right to vote.

A voter who wishes to vote from abroad must individually submit a registration request to the list of out of country voters through the Electronic Registration Platform (PER) established by the Central Election Commission for this purpose.

This platform will be accessible free of charge from all electronic devices available to citizens (mobile phones/tablets/computers).

The citizen will create an account on the PER platform by providing their personal identification number, date of birth, and place of birth; a facial image through (the user liveness check) and a mobile phone number and/or an email address.

The CEC checks the accuracy of the identification information, and if the data align after verification, the voter’s account is set up. If there is a discrepancy, the account will not be created, but the voter can correct the information and request the account setup again.

The voter submits a request to register on the list of out of country voters through their account created in PER, following these steps:

The voter scans an identification document issued by the Republic of Albania, such as a passport or an ID card, through PER. The platform automatically reads and uploads the data contained in the identification document. If, for any reason, this data does not upload automatically, the voter can manually upload it to PER. In any case, PER allows the voter to upload a scanned copy of the relevant identification document.

The voter uploads at least one document to PER that verifies their stay outside the territory of the Republic of Albania. The list of these documents is approved by a specific act of the Regulatory Commission, which also sets limits on the number of voters registered at a single address, as well as the corresponding exceptions.

The voter fills in their residential address, which must include at least the following information: country, postal code, city, street name, apartment number, and any other address elements (if applicable).

The registration request is individual, and the PER system does not allow it to be submitted on behalf of another person or from another person’s account.

ATA: How will the issue of invalid identification documents be addressed? In particular, will Albanians be allowed to vote if their IDs have expired?

Nano: Voters will be allowed to register even with identification documents (passport for abroad or identity card) that have expired. However, the right to vote will be exercised in accordance with the conditions and criteria set out in Article 105, Paragraph 1, letter (a) of the Electoral Code, which requires a valid document, as well as in other acts that the Regulatory Commission will approve for out of country voting. Therefore, although a document with an expired validity will be accepted at the initial registration stage, by the end of the registration period, in order to enable voting, the voter must have a valid document.

ATA: What information will Albanians need to vote from abroad? For example, an address, phone number, etc.

Nano: They must express their will to vote from abroad by registering on the Electronic Registration Platform, using an identification document issued by the Republic of Albania, such as a passport for abroad or an identity card.

They must also have at least one document that verifies their stay outside the territory of the Republic of Albania and a residential address, which should include at least the following information: country, postal code, city, street name, apartment number, as well as any other address elements (if applicable). According to Article 25, paragraph 6 of the Electoral Code, the address declared by the voter must be supported by a document that they will upload to the Platform, and the list of these documents will be approved shortly by the Regulatory Commission.

ATA: What information will be required for older individuals?

Nano: The rules apply equally to all voters wishing to vote from abroad, regardless of their age.

ATSH: How will the process be managed by the CEC from the preliminary list to the final voting and the arrival of the ballot by mail?

Nano: This process will be managed by the CEC, and the detailed rules for these procedures will be approved in the coming days.

ATA: How does the CEC verify the validity of the voting process for Albanians abroad?

Nano: The CEC will prepare, manage, and administer this process just as it does for the voting process within the country, with full responsibility and by providing all the guarantees it offers for the domestic voting process.

ATA: Is there an estimate for the number of Albanian voters from the diaspora who will cast their ballot in the spring 2025 elections?

Nano: We do not yet know how many Albanian citizens will vote from abroad, but efforts are underway to ensure that the right to vote is guaranteed for all those who wish to exercise this right from their countries of residence. The exact number will be available 60 days before the election date, once the registration procedures and the preparation of the voter list from abroad are completed.

ATA: Is there agreement with the opposition regarding the draft law on the documentation required for the voting of Albanians abroad?

Nano: The Regulatory Commission has continuously worked and consulted all its acts with political parties and civil society. In this case, we are also consulting with organizations that represent the diaspora to ensure that the approval act for the documentation that voters need to submit is comprehensive and inclusive.

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