OSCE Presence organizes study visit on out-of-country voting for Albania’s Central Election Commission

From 14 to 17 October 2024, a delegation from Albania’s Central Election Commission (CEC), including representatives from the Regulatory Commission and the technical staff, conducted a study visit to Sarajevo, focused on the administration of the out-of-country voting. The visit – organized by the OSCE Presence – comes at a crucial time for Albania, as the CEC is drafting secondary legislation to facilitate the participation of Albanian citizens living abroad in the 2025 parliamentary elections.

The Albanian delegation met with representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Central Election Commission, officials overseeing the election counting process, and representatives of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the meetings, participants discussed the rules and procedures for out-of-country voting, focusing on voter registration for citizens living abroad, the preparation of voter lists, voting procedures, tabulation of results, and the use of new technology. The Albanian officials were introduced to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s nearly three decades of experience in implementing out-of-country voting, including challenges faced and the solutions developed over the years. Special emphasis was placed on the recent local elections, where measures were taken to enhance the integrity and inclusiveness of voting from abroad.

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized the visit as part of its "Support to electoral reform and processes in Albania" project funded by Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. Mission to the OSCE and Poland.