Diaspora vote/ Celibashi: No voter is penalized, they can reapply several times if their request is rejected

Chief Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi has provided details on the launch of the diaspora registration process to vote in the 2025 parliamentary elections. In a press conference, Celibashi explained in detail how the registration, which is open from today until March 4, will function.

"It has been in operation since 00:00. They can register through the PER platform, accessing from the CEC website or the CEC application. When you go to the external voter section, three buttons will appear there, one invites you to enter PER, the other has the registration data and button 3 if you need more clarification. Then, by entering PER, the external voter can complete the application process, there is a help button that, without starting the process, can request assistance or by asking through a chatbot system, can call a CEC operator, the call is paid, can communicate through WhatsApp and can send an email to the CEC. This entire process, as it is carried out from the CEC website, can also be carried out through the CEC application", said Celibashi.

For overseas voters whose request to register may be rejected because they have not met the criteria, Celibashi emphasizes that there will be no penalties, but they will be able to re-register as many times as they want until the deadline, March 4. 

They can reapply as many times as they want until March 4. If their application is rejected for any reason, they can resubmit their application as many times as they want until March 4.

"Until March 4th, anything is possible. After March 4th, if one of the voters is on the list from abroad, and will not vote from there, there is a way to address it, they will be asked to the Civil Registry Office where the municipality is located to be included in the list of voters within the country."

"If he resides outside the territory of Albania and uploads a document that is related to the address he has declared, he will be registered, if he does not meet the conditions, he will not be registered. The condition related to the acceptance or not of the request has to do with uploading a document that is related to the address he declares in the system. For the law, it is enough to be considered a voter from abroad," Celibashi continued.

Elibashi guarantees that they have taken measures to ensure that there will be no problems with the PER application, where voters from abroad are registered.

"We have taken measures, in our assessment there will be no problem and we are organized from a technical and human point of view to cope with all possible flows. The fact that requests have come from different continents means that the system responds well to any type of request regardless of where the applicant is. This is proof that the system we have built is solid from a technical and security point of view. We are in cooperation 24/7 with other Albanian institutions to respond to any type of possible risk", said Celibashi.

Those who have problems with registration can seek help from the CEC via phone, but this is for a fee, or communication on WhatsApp, email, or a chatbot has been placed at their disposal that answers all their questions.

"Almost 99% of them were communicating via WhatsApp, while they can also use the chatbot very well, we have included all the questions that voters from abroad may have, we are also uploading the relevant tutorial for each of the three ways to apply to PER", Celibashi continued.  

So far, 2 requests out of 499 applications from immigrants to register for the elections have been approved.