More than one million Albanians with new ID cards

TIRANA, May 25 – The interior ministry announced that more than one million Albanians had already applied for the new identity cards and assured that all non-passport holders would be equipped with them ahead of the June 28 parliamentary polls.
More than 1 million citizens have applied for the cards, while 930,000 cards have been produced since the process began in December. The people of Albanian have been urged to run and get them, the minister, Bujar Nishani, said.
ID cards and passports are the two valid documents voters must present before casting their ballots at polling stations for the June 28th parliamentary election. Until now, voters had to present a birth certificate. The introduction of the electronic ID cards has suffered problems and delays.
The opposition, on its side, offers many complaints starting from the lack of application offices in some communes, referring to media news that Democratic supporting businessmen pay for those poor Albanians who they know will support them.
The opposition also asked for the full list of the non-passport holders and the interior ministry responded by saying they had already sent it at the beginning of the month.
The fight for the new identity cards seems that it will continue until the last moment.
The opposition has threatened or hinted that they may likely not enter the elections unless all Albanians are issued with an identity card.