VZCZCXRO1861
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0867 3441214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091214Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7669
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2426

UNCLAS TIRANA 000867 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL AL
SUBJECT: OSCE PROGRESS REPORT ON PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION PREPARTIONS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On December 5, the Deputy Minister of the Interior 
said the GOA was making satisfactory progress on registering 
addresses in the country (the first step toward issuing voter ID 
cards), although he admitted they are behind schedule.  The Deputy 
Minister expressed confidence that a required law for national IDs 
will be passed by mid-December and he explained that the company 
producing the IDs is already present in Albania and should be able 
to produce 15,000 cards per day starting in January 2009.  The GOA 
will be conducting a publicity campaign to encourage Albanians to 
apply for the new IDs - however, the new IDs are not strictly 
required to vote in the 2009 election. End summary. 
 
Progress on formalizing addresses 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 5, the Deputy Minister of the Interior spoke 
about Albania's progress in formalizing addresses throughout Albania 
in order to have a solid foundation for issuing new national 
identification cards.  (NOTE: Albania is a mail carrier's worst 
nightmare - many streets are not named, and buildings and houses are 
not numbered.  END NOTE).  This process is behind schedule, although 
the Deputy Minister said that this was by the Ministry's choosing. 
Following OSCE's guidance, the GOA has focused on registering urban 
population centers to get as many addresses as possible established 
quickly.  They so far have registered 118 out of 170 districts for 
the project. The remaining districts are small communities and 
municipalities. 
 
New law needed for national ID cards is in progress 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) The establishment of verifiable addresses is an important 
step towards a national ID card, but the GOA must also pass a civil 
status law that is in the works now as well.  The Deputy Minister 
was very confident this law would be passed by December 18, saying 
that what the Interior Ministry "wants to do, it can do." 
 
National ID cards set to arrive in January 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The company that will be producing the ID cards is already 
present in Albania as is the equipment that they will be using to 
print the cards.  This new national ID card will be produced in 
conjunction with a new Albanian passport.  The contracting company 
and the GOA claim that they will be able to produce 15,000 cards per 
day starting in January 2009.  The time from applying for a card to 
receiving it should be less than 15 days. 
 
Getting the word out 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The GOA will run a publicity campaign to encourage people 
to apply for the new IDs.  The government will also pressure 
government employees as well as those on government assistance to 
get the IDs early in order to avoid a last minute rush before the 
elections.  If citizens do not have an ID before the election they 
will still be able to vote with a passport, although the Minister 
said that the initial publicity campaign would not make this clear 
in hopes that it would "scare" citizens into applying for the new 
IDs. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Although the GOA and OSCE are behind schedule, progress is 
being made towards a national ID system - a crucial precursor to a 
successful parliamentary election in June 2009.  While a significant 
portion of the addresses in the project have been formalized, it is 
important to note that those remaining may be the hardest to verify. 
 If production of the ID cards begins in January as promised by the 
GOA, this would be an encouraging step for election governance and, 
Albanians hope, ease visa restrictions.  A key step going forward 
will be to assure Albanian citizens that the system is in their best 
interest in order to get widespread usage of the new ID cards. 
Another potential stumbling block could be the price of the IDs - at 
12 dollars per card and over fifty dollars for passports, the price 
could be prohibitive for poorer families, particularly in rural 
areas. 
 
WITHERS