New IDs remain a hot political topic

TIRANA, March 10 – Two months ago authorities started the process of issuing the new identity cards for its citizens, a move much expected for different reasons, especially for the upcoming parliamentary elections of June 28.
The new IDs also mean there is a civil register for all Albanian citizens. Voters’ lists have always been a tool of manipulation in post-communist Albania.
This list remains a political tool at the pre-election moment. The opposition continues to criticise the government of failing with the new IDs. The opposition says the government has not opened all application offices around the country and is still not issuing the new IDs correctly or on time.
The government insists that everything is going according to plan. They say that some 200,000 Albanians have already received their new IDs and the application offices cover 80 percent of the territory and they continue to urge the population to visit these offices and complete their applications.
At a demonstration ceremony the country’s president, Bamir Topi, together with his family applied for the new IDs saying that the people should also feel obliged because the new documentation will truly serve them in their future lives.
The new IDs are a basic tool which the government is using to ask the European Union to liberalize the visa regime for its citizens.
In another move the Ministry of the Interior has invited diplomats of the EU member countries to visit the new ID centers.
The country is also expected to start issuing new biometric passports in the weeks to come.