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In line with its commitment to strengthening the integrity of elections in the country, KRIIK representatives met today, November 25, 2025, with the State Commissioner for Elections, Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi.
The meeting with Commissioner Celibashi, following an uninterrupted communication and cooperation with the CEC, was undertaken today, on the eve of the election period for the Elections for the Assembly of Albania, the date of which is expected to be decreed any moment by the President of the Republic. This meeting is also a follow-up to several meetings that KRIIK is having with main institutions and other stakeholders in the country, especially with those that play a role or are tasked to ensure the implementation of the upcoming election process.
During the meeting, KRIIK representatives emphasized the very important role of the Central Election Commission in guaranteeing the integrity of elections, with a special focus on strengthening supervision of parties and campaign finance, preventing the use of administrative resources for electoral advantage, as well as the successful application of the regulatory process that will ensure the voting of Albanian voters living abroad for the first time.
As it seems that the next election process will be conducted under the present legal framework, which has a number of shortcomings, KRIIK highlighted the importance of completing or improving the secondary legislation, within the framework established by the primary legal framework, with necessary elements that increase and strengthen the integrity of future elections, and encouraged the CEC to undertake necessary steps to this effect.
In this aspect, KRIIK emphasized the importance of continuing and further enhancing the consultation process that precedes the adoption/amendment of by-laws of the Central Election Commission, in addition to the primary legal framework, mainly with political parties but also with civil society stakeholders with previous contribution and expertise, or even with international organizations and experts engaged in this field.
Apart from the positive and improved process recently followed by the CEC in approving the acts that will enable the voting of Albanians living abroad, an extraordinary responsibility of the CEC which is almost concluded, KRIIK presented the need to complete the regulatory acts of the CEC which can further improve transparency and supervision of party and campaign finances, as well as those that enable the effective prevention of the use of public office and state resources for electoral advantage[1] in the period before the next parliamentary elections.
In view of this improvement, representatives of KRIIK highlighted the necessity for interaction between the three governing bodies of the CEC for the improvement of the secondary legal framework on elections, based on the four-year experience of exercising their functions, combined with the annual analyzes that the CEC institution itself has conducted, while also taking into consideration the findings and recommendations of international and domestic observers, including KRIIK.
KRIIK commended and strongly supported the commitment expressed by the State Election Commissioner to further increase transparency of the activity of the CEC, highlighting the need for interaction with all relevant actors in order to achieve this goal, as well as in connection with some concrete initiatives that the CEC is undertaking in this direction before the next Elections for the Assembly of Albania.
Following the topics discussed in this meeting, as well as the close follow-up of the entire political-institutional process that is preceding the start of the election period of the next Parliamentary Elections, KRIIK finds relevant and shares the concerns raised publicly regarding logistical difficulties that may hinder the voting of Albanians living abroad because of delays in mailing ballots.
In order to address this issue, KRIIK appeals to the Parliamentary Political Parties, the Institution of the Assembly and every Member of Parliament, to take upon themselves the responsibility and fulfill the obligation to ensure the voting of citizens living abroad, away from petty political and party interests or narrow electoral calculations.
They must necessarily ensure the success of this process, and not in one way or another promote its unfeasibility, justifying its deliberate failure, with the reason of not being ready for such a process yet.
KRIIK urgently calls on them to engage in changing the primary legal framework, in order to minimize the possibility that votes sent from abroad will be declared invalid as a result of the postal deadlines, as this would create a very negative precedent in the application of voting for the first time from abroad.
Furthermore, KRIIK calls for amendments to the Electoral Code to provide for the full coverage of the cost of the postal service by the Albanian state, whatever that cost may be, at least for this election, by providing for the delivery and receipt of the ballot by express postal service.
Also, KRIIK considers that despite the limited time available before the next parliamentary elections, it is still possible to amend the legal framework for elections or other laws, also referring to the calendar approved by the Conference of Chairs of the Assembly of Albania, with the aim to strengthen the transparency of political funding and prevent the use of state resources for electoral advantage.
The commitment to carry out further interventions in the legal framework for the elections, expressed by some of the members of the Parliamentary Legal Committee in the session of July 24, 2024, of this Committee[2], in which they voted to send the amendments to the Electoral Code to the plenary session, until this moment has not been followed up with concrete steps.
Despite the short time available, minor changes in the legislation can still be carried out if there is political will from the main political parties to keep up with their public statements in an institutional political agreement, which should be manifested not only to the electoral legislation, but also to concrete contributions to the by-laws that the CEC will approve or amend, in order to improve the standards of the 2025 election process.
KRIIK emphasizes that the political agreement between the two main political parties, SP and PD, to address the three decisions of the Constitutional Court, was found and went further with the amendments of July, after managing to repeal article 183 of the Electoral Code, specifically of its point 7, undoing the partial renewal process of one of the leading bodies of the CEC, the Appeals and Sanctions Commission and thus yielding to the aspiration for which this provision was foreseen, ensuring the proper functioning and independence of this governing body of the CEC[3].
Also, still today, none of these stakeholders has undertaken any steps to replace or re-elect the State Deputy Commissioner of Elections, whose mandate ended on October 5, 2024.
In conclusion of this Statement, KRIIK appeals to international stakeholders, both the diplomatic missions of Albania’s partner countries as well as international organizations with expertise and experience, that in addition to encouraging the pressure that needs to be put on the political and institutional factors to address major concerns identified by ODIHR, to support the Central Election Commission in its mission to strengthen the integrity of elections, both by giving public support to the CEC’s efforts, as well as by offering technical or even financial assistance in supporting its activity.
Tirana, on November 25, 2024!
[1] Such as Decision no. 9, dated March 9, 2021 of the Regulatory Commission “For the portal’s operation and maintenance procedures, the procedures and deadlines for the administrative investigation of complaints and the decision taken at their conclusion”.
[2] Shih the meeting of the Commission for Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights dated July 24, 2024.
[3] The approval of the July amendments to the Electoral Code by the Assembly was done in a complete lack of prior transparency by not even publishing the prepared draft on the website.
This fact made it possible to pass another change made to the Electoral Code, which had never been publicly discussed before, and which is essentially a continuation of the cancellation of the Political Agreement of June 5, 2020.
According to point 7 of Article 183, the term of office of the three members chosen by lot of KAS expired on October 5, 2024, so the Assembly would have to undertake the procedure of electing three new members during the month of September 2024.
*This Document is published in Albanian and in English.
The Albanian version is the only official document.