Invalid votes double in 2009 elections

Invalid votes or disqualified votes have doubled in the June 28th 2009 elections, as compared to 3rd of July 2005 elections asserts Luan Shahollari, economist, ex-vice-minister and ex-parliamentarian, in the pages of the Albanian-language daily newspaper Tirana Observer (21.07.2009).
According to Shahollari, 21,973 invalid votes were counted out of a total of 1,389,320 votes cast in the elections of the 3rd of July 2005. Shahollari calculates this to represent 1.58 % of the votes cast.
In the elections of the 28rd of June 2009, the invalid vote (or disqualified vote) was even more preponderant with 42,066 invalid votes counted out of a total of 1,553,350 ballots collected in the ballot-boxes. Shahollari calculates this to represent 2.71 % of the votes cast.
In some of the electoral areas the percentage is even equal to or higher than 3 % (Elbasan 3 %, Dib철3.03 %, Lezh렳.20 %, Berat 3.36 %).
It is striking that while the number of voters has but slightly increased, the number of invalid votes has almost doubled. According to calculations made by Tirana Times, 20,093 more invalid votes were cast in the elections of 2009 (almost double the number of invalid votes in 2005), while the increase in the number of total voters amounted to 164 030 more voters (nearly 11 % more voters in 2009 compared to 2005).
Another striking feature is that there is only one district where the invalid vote counts for less than 2 %. This is Kuk쳮 Out of the twelve electoral districts, Kuk쳠is the only district below this level, with invalid votes counting for only 1.47 % of the votes cast.
The electoral data are not yet official and may only suggest the tendency. Shahollari suggests that lack of training of commissioners, rise of illiteracy, old habits of voting as well as negative voting might be some of the reasons that might explain the large increase of the invalid vote.