Ida Ismail
How did the need to use technology in elections arise?
The idea of electronic voting in Albania arose as a need to increase the credibility and transparency of elections after numerous problems with the traditional method. After the 2009 elections, attempts were made to pilot electronic counting. In 2010, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha declared that in the next elections “there will be no more boxes, no commissioners, no ballot papers”, promising to move towards electronic voting. Even the Socialist Party, when it was in opposition before 2013, had made the introduction of technology a condition for the elections, demanding electronic counting of votes to avoid disputes.
The first concrete attempt failed: The pilot project of electronic counting (e.g. in Fier Region) was never implemented in 2013, also leading to economic damage of around 4 million euros for unused equipment, which the CEC signed with a Spanish company.
Request for electronic voting, agreement of June 5, 2020
In 2016–2017, the opposition Democratic Party demanded biometric identification, electronic voting, and electronic counting in the 2017 elections. The opposition also staged a 90-day protest (“tents” on the boulevard) insisting on the introduction of electronic voting. Due to the failure to reach consensus, the June 2017 elections were again held using the traditional method. The political crisis and the burning of mandates in 2019 led to the creation of a Political Council for Electoral Reform. The DP-SP agreement was also reached with the mediation of the international factor. The Electoral Code was amended to allow the use of technology, providing for the electronic identification of 100% of voters and the piloting of electronic voting.
Parliamentary Elections 2021 (Pilot project in Tirana)
Electronic identification, voting and counting were implemented for the first time in the parliamentary elections of April 25, 2021. The CEC implemented a pilot project for electronic voting and counting in Administrative Unit No. 10 in Tirana, which included 32 voting centers with approximately 23,600 voters. The process was carried out normally and the equipment functioned in all 32 centers of Unit 10. Problems with electronic voting were encountered by the elderly and people with poor vision, as there were no assistive options (e.g. audio or enlarged text).
Local Elections of 2023
In the local elections of May 14, 2023, electronic voting was extended as a pilot in the Municipality of Vora and was repeated in Unit no. 10 in Tirana. The CEC planned to extend it to larger municipalities (such as Elbasan and Kamza). Electronic identification failed in 12% of the voting centers, due to the lack of trained operators, equipment defects, some of which were thrown in the trash. Prime Minister Edi Rama stated at the time that the PEI devices have guaranteed security and their malfunction is inexcusable and unjustifiable. The results were published on election night, well before the manual counting in other municipalities.
The cost of electronic voting: Analysis and figures
In the 2021 elections, the CEC spent about 125.8 million lek (approximately 1 million euros) on the pilot project of electronic voting in Unit no. 10. Considering that about 10 thousand voters voted electronically in this unit, the average cost was over €100 for each vote cast. Even in the 2023 local elections, the costs remained high. The CEC made about €17 million available for electronic voting in three municipalities alone (Elbasan, Kamëz, Vorë). If this amount is divided by the total number of voters in those municipalities, it turns out that an electronic vote would cost an average of €125. Specifically, the Municipality of Vorë has about 16 thousand voters and with this funding, the cost per vote in Vorë reached only about €125 (so ~€2 million in total). In comparison, in countries where electronic voting is consolidated, the costs are much lower. An electronic vote in Estonia ranges from 2 to 20 euros.
The 2025 Parliamentary Elections, "saltier" than the previous two elections
Due to the lack of political consensus, in the elections of May 11, 2025, electronic voting was used only in two areas, in Vora and in unit 10 of Tirana, where about 70 thousand voters had the opportunity to vote. The government allocated a budget of 34.3 million euros to the Central Election Commission for the organization of the general parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025. The results for the electronic voting in Vora and in unit 10 of Tirana were released on the morning of May 12, as requested by the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, in March 2025, the government fulfilled the CEC's request and approved an additional fund of 9.3 million euros for the expenses of implementing the diaspora vote.
International observers for electronic voting
The OSCE/ODIHR report on the 2025 elections states that electronic voting generally took place without obstacles, however many voters encountered difficulties in this process and some members of election commissions were not adequately trained or did not have clarity on their roles.
Domestic observers: Problems with equipment operation
Observers from the Helsinki Community and Civic Resistance have reported technical problems with the functioning of electronic voter identification (EVI) devices or failure to recognize voters' identities by the device in some cases. This has led to voter absences, early morning flows, or delays in the process.
Problems with the diaspora vote
In the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2025, for the first time, Albanians in the diaspora had the opportunity to vote by mail. This was a historic step, but the turnout was very low. Of the approximately 1.2 million Albanians eligible to vote abroad, only 201,795 registered to vote. The main reasons were complex registration requirements, short deadlines, lack of information and trust in the process. According to the CEC, many envelopes with ballots were not distributed or were not returned, causing financial losses of about 2 million euros to the state.
Electoral expert Kristaq Kume said that the diaspora vote was a process that did not meet expectations in terms of respecting the standards of the Electoral Code and the CEC. Kume said: It was the first time that the diaspora voted and the problems that arose were expected.
Accusations and reactions
The Democratic Party accused the head of the CEC, Ilirjan Celibashi, of being primarily responsible for the failure of the 11 million euro contract with DHL for the distribution of diaspora votes.
Anti-Corruption Spokesperson Genta Vangjeli stated that although the law did not allow it, DHL made agreements with subcontractors to distribute envelopes with ballots in Greece, where as an example she brought up the posts of senior socialist officials informing immigrants to withdraw ballots at postal points unauthorized by the CEC.
Chief Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi said that there are no ballots that have been added or trafficked, but added that the claims about the distribution of votes by the postal company DHL remain to be evaluated.
Cyberattacks during elections
The immigrant registration system, the official website of the Central Election Commission and the platform that broadcasts election results in real time have been continuously attacked by specialized hackers. Celibashi stressed that they had no impact on the system and that they were cyberattacks organized from abroad, comparing them to similar attacks in other countries such as France or Estonia.
International experiences and lessons from Estonia
As Albania takes its first steps towards electronic voting, one of the most successful models we can learn from is Estonia. The Estonian electronic voting system (known as “i-voting”) is a form of remote voting via the internet, where citizens can vote from home or wherever they are, using their electronic identity card or mobile phone (Mobile-ID) to identify themselves and sign the digital vote. After the polls close, the electronic votes are decrypted and counted under the strict supervision of a special election commission and international observers.
