TIRANA, June 10 – The Interior Ministry reported Wednesday that 1.3 million Albanians had already applied for the new identity cards, needed especially for the June 28 parliamentary elections.
Deputy Interior Minister Ferdinand Poni, in charge of the process, said that 1,306,842 citizens had applied as of June 9. While 1,187.378 IDs were produced, only 850,000 Albanians had received them to date.
Poni called on the people to hurry and claim their new IDs.
The process of issuing new electronic ID cards remains the most contentious issue ahead of the June 28th parliamentary elections, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a report published Monday.
Opposition Socialists say that the government has failed to complete the process on time and have said that was done on purpose as a way of manipulating the polls.
The ODIHR criticized the government for failing to provide enough information to citizens regarding the procedure. ODIHR had received inaccurate information from the interior ministry regarding the number of citizens who don’t hold a valid passport and have not yet applied for an electronic ID card. One or the other is needed to cast a vote. The ministry says it was a technical mistake, while the main opposition Socialist Party says the ministry is trying to manipulate the election process.
1.3 million Albanians apply for new IDs
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