Home > 1.1.2 Voters' registration and registers > ALBANIA - Joint Opinion on the Electoral Law and the Electoral Practice
 
 
 
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V. Right to vote and voter registration









The voter registration system is a passive one based on national computerised civil registers. The voter lists are extracted from the database of the National Civil Status Register by the Civil Status Offices (CSOs) that are under the authority of local government. The Code provides for extraction of a preliminary voter list, written notification of voters, a procedure of revision and changes, and the posting of a final list. Regarding changes to the voter lists, Article 52.1 states that requests for changes to the preliminary voter list may not be submitted later than 60 days prior to the date of elections. The final voter lists are to be printed and sent to the CEAZs for posting no later than 30 days before election day (Article 54). If a voter changes residence after the posting of the final list, the voter is to vote in the voting centre where his/her name appears on the list (Article 55.2). During the 2011 local elections, the government interpreted the relevant provisions in the manner that the final voter lists should reflect all changes to a citizen’s status up to the printing of the final voter list and most CSOs implemented it accordingly. This interpretation was very much disputed by the major opposition party that considered all changes after the deadline of Article 52.1 illegal.