The State Election Commissioner, Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi, Discusses the Progress of Preparations for the Parliamentary Elections of May 11, 2025

Today, the State Election Commissioner, Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi, spoke with media representatives about the progress of preparations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 11, 2025.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) shared key updates of public interest:

Electoral Subjects

• 51 political parties have been registered as electoral subjects.
• 2 political parties are in the process of having their registration requests reviewed.
• The deadline for submitting requests to register as electoral coalitions ends today at midnight.
• The deadline for submitting multi-name candidate lists is March 12.
• By March 20, the CEC hopes to complete the entire review and approval process for the multi-name candidate lists, assuming no issues arise with documentation. This will allow sufficient time to prepare all electoral materials for out-of-country voting.

Out-of-Country Voting

• The preparation process has proceeded in accordance with legal provisions.
• March 4 at midnight marks the deadline for submitting applications to register as an out-of-country voter.
• Sunday, March 2, 2025, recorded the highest number of applications for voter registration from abroad, with 16,302 Albanian citizens applying.
• Applications received today and tomorrow will be reviewed by March 9.
• On March 9, the preliminary list of out-of-country voters will be published.

The Commissioner addressed questions regarding the possibility of extending the registration deadline for out-of-country voters. He emphasized that an extension beyond March 9 is not possible, as this date is set by the Electoral Code.

Without a legal amendment process, no extension can be granted.

Discussions may continue until March 9, as the CEC is technically prepared to handle an extension. However, there is no political consensus to allow for such a decision.

The Commissioner proposed to both major political forces that, at a minimum, for the 42,000 voters whose applications were rejected, the CEC could be granted additional days to assist with a reapplication process.

If the CEC can process these cases individually, as it is currently doing, it would be beneficial. However, this option must be addressed by the Regulatory Commission through an appropriate normative act.

As of now, March 4 remains the final deadline for applying to register on the out-of-country voter list.

Postal Service

The CEC clarified that it is working on drafting the terms of reference for the selection process of the postal service provider. While no hypothetical scenarios are being considered, two fundamental principles will be upheld:

1. Ensuring that the ballot arrives as quickly as possible and directly into the hands of each registered voter.
2. Acquiring this service at the lowest possible cost without compromising the above standard.

In compliance with the law, all international postal service providers with representation in Albania will be invited to participate in the selection process.

Electronic Voting

Commissioner Celibashi confirmed that electronic voting will continue as a pilot project and will be implemented in:

• Administrative Unit No. 10 in Tirana Municipality
• Vora Municipality