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P 171446Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TIRANA 000247 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL PHUM AL
SUBJECT: ID CARD PROCESS IN A RACE AGAINST TIME 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 15 the GOA announced its latest 
plan to reduce fees for ID cards for needy Albanians, 
establishing a fee schedule that eliminates entirely or 
significantly reduces the ID card fees for practically all 
Albanian citizens currently receiving public assistance.  In 
contrast with previous schemes, this one requires ID card 
applicants to pay little or nothing up front - instead, the 
government itself will foot the bill for the cards.  Almost 
immediately, the opposition Socialist Party (SP) declared the 
latest GOA move unworkable and insufficient and declared a 
boycott of further parliamentary plenary sessions until the 
GOA agrees to issue the ID cards for free.  SP leader Edi 
Rama on April 17 said that the SP is ready to work with the 
GOA to find a solution, but said that if no solution is found 
the SP is also ready to "rise up to prevent a manipulated 
election."  On April 15 the GOA provided the Embassy with the 
latest figures on ID card production.  As of mid April, some 
537,000 non-passport holders had yet to apply for an ID card, 
although according to Sagem there is still more than enough 
capacity to register and print cards for all 537,000.  The 
problem remains, however, that far too few non-passport 
holders people are applying for cards.  Unless current 
application rates increase, many voters will be left without 
either a passport or ID card come election day.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ID Card Fees Reduced 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On April 15 the Council of Ministers approved a new 
fee schedule for ID cards, establishing a five-tiered 
schedule laying out fees ranging from zero to 1000 lek per 
card for certain groups (the full price for an ID card is 
1200 lek, or about 12 dollars).  The GOA decision also 
established a procedure for reimbursement of travel expenses 
incurred by ID card applicants required to travel to another 
town to apply for an ID card.  The new plan eliminated 
entirely the ID card fee for Roma, the paralyzed, the blind, 
and for family members of the disabled who have no other 
income.  People in jail or prison can also receive their 
cards for free.  The GOA plan also lays out the following 
prices for other groups: 
 
-- 200 lek card fee: Pensioners; public university students; 
first time voters; people under 18 who are members of 
households receiving public assistance. 
 
-- 500 lek card fee: Certain categories of disabled who are 
on public assistance; people receiving unemployment benefits. 
 
-- 800 lek card fee: any pensioner not covered under the 
other provision for pensioners. 
 
-- 1000 lek card fee: State employees (and their family 
members) where the state employee earns less than 35,000 lek 
(appx. 350 dollars) per month. 
 
 
But the Devil is in the Details 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The GOA plan requires local governments buy full 
priced ID card vouchers, then re-sell the vouchers to 
eligible people at the discounted price.  The central 
government will then reimburse the local governments at a 
later date, but the Minister of Interior said on April 17 
that the GOA will front the money for municipalities that 
cannot afford to buy the cards.  The opposition immediately 
claimed that local governments lack the money to buy the ID 
cards, and complained that the new GOA proposal is cumbersome 
and confusing.  SP Parliamentary Group Leader Valentina 
Leskaj told PolOff that the plan will only further confuse 
voters, claiming that this is the third discount plan the 
government has announced in as many months.  Leskaj also said 
that numerous mayors and other local officials had told her 
that they have no money to buy ID vouchers (a complaint 
seemingly diffused by the MoI's claim that the GOA will pay 
up front).  Leskaj also stated (a claim seemingly backed by 
data provided to the Embassy by the GOA) that some 91 towns 
still lacked any registration center whatsoever.  However, 
during an April 17 briefing for the diplomatic corps, 
Minister of Interior Nishani said that by the end of April 
all registration centers will be open and functioning. 
 
ID Card Production Moving Along, But Will it Be Enough? 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
TIRANA 00000247  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On April 15, Deputy Interior Minister in charge of 
ID cards Ferdinand Poni provided DCM with a lengthy briefing 
on the registration and printing process for ID cards.  Poni 
told the DCM that the GOA is entirely focused on getting IDs 
to the 537,000 people who lack passports and will not be 
allowed to vote if they do not receive an ID card by the June 
28 election day.  Poni said that of the 729,710 non-passport 
holders identified by the GOA, 191,821 had already applied 
for an ID card, with 537,889 left to go.  (NOTE: Poni said 
the 729,710 figure - arrived at by comparing the entire civil 
registry to the lisds of passport holders - is the maximum 
number of Albanians who do not have passports.  PoniQeqtimateS th!t some 200,000 of the 729,710 ha6e pro"ably ledt 
Albania with no record of tHeIp dEpQrtureQ meafIfg the number 
of passport-lesc AlbafialS CmulQ "eaQch less than 729,000. 
The /ppeQataofover 
one illion applicants between now and the elections, but 
admitted that the current number of daily applicants is only 
about half of available capacity.  @oni said that of a 
planned 470 registration centQrs nationwide, 410 had opened 
and are working seven days a week. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) However, the GOA figures clearly show that in two 
northern districts - Diber and Kukes - Sagem's capacity to 
register ID card applicants barely exceeds the number of 
outstanding applicants, meaning that within a short time 
there will be more applicants than capacity to register them 
between now and the elections.  In other words, time in these 
districts is quickly running out. 
 
Poni Blames Edi Rama for Sagging Registration Numbers 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Poni said that SP calls for free IDs had 
discouraged people from applying for cards in hopes that the 
cards would soon be offered for free.  Poni gave the DCM a 
memo he had received from Sagem claiming a significant 
decrease in the number of applicants during the first two 
weeks of April.  The memo said that nationwide, registration 
of applicants is running at only half-capacity. 
 
SP: The GOA Has No Real Plan 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) SP strategist Kastriot Islami told PolOff on April 
15 that the SP does not dispute the GOA figures in terms of 
ID cards registered for and printed, although the SP believes 
the number of people without passports is much higher than 
the GOA's 729,710 figure.  Islami hotly (and only partially 
convincingly) disputed the notion that SP calls for free IDs 
had discouraged applicants, claiming that people are not 
applying because they can't afford the cards.  Islami also 
criticized the latest GOA discount plan as "confusing and 
cumbersome," and said the fact that the GOA seems to come up 
with a new proposal every few weeks only adds to impression 
that the GOA has no plan to get IDs into the hands of those 
who need them and is only solving the problem in a piecemeal 
fashion.  Islami said the GOA's ultimate goal is to depress 
voter turnout, which Islami said would hurt the SP and 
especially other, smaller parties.  According to Sagem 
numbers, average daily registrations peaked in late March at 
13,000 applicants per day, compared to an average of 9000 per 
day for the first two weeks of April. 
 
Doing the Math 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) There are 57 working days left until June 12, which 
is the cutoff date for registering for an ID card in order to 
get it in time for the election.  According to Ministry of 
Interior figures, there are approximately 9000 people 
applying for ID cards per day nationwide.  Unfortunately, and 
also according to MoI data, only 55 percent (roughly 5000) of 
these 9000 applicants lack passports.  At this current rate, 
it will take well over 120 days to register all of the 
roughly 537,000 applicants who remain without passports.  So 
although the capacity clearly exists to register and print 
cards for all who need them, applicants are not coming in 
sufficient numbers for all passport-less voters to get cards 
by election day. 
 
TIRANA 00000247  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT: Sagem and the GOA have done much to 
increase the printing and registration capacity of the ID 
card system, but have had less success in luring applicants. 
The fact remains that unless more applicants are convinced or 
cajoled into applying for cards, a large number of 
passport-less voters will not have ID cards in time for the 
election.  The GOA certainly hopes that its latest reduction 
in the ID card fees will help bring in more applications, but 
the new system will only go into effect on May 1. 
 
 
CRISTINA