The General Director of the Civil Registry, Bledar Doracaj said in an interview for Euronews Albania that 700 thousand Albanians will not have a biometric document until April 25, where the general elections are expected to be held,
While making an appeal in particular to Albanians living abroad to apply for the new biometric document, Mr. Doracaj said that the procedures have been greatly facilitated, so applicants only need a few minutes to submit the old identification document.
"We have facilitated the application procedure, there are around 4 thousand Albanians who have applied in e-Albania, which is a small number.
In a 2-year period, the government has twice delayed this process to help people whose ID cards had expired, once during the 2019 elections and once during the pandemic.
"We are trying to sensitize Albanians living abroad to renew by handing over only the old biometric ID card", explained Mr. Doracaj.
Meanwhile, in a 'live' link, the representative of the Diaspora Association for a Free Albania, Bledar Milaqi conveyed the concern of thousands of Albanians living abroad who, as he said, request the extension of the validity of their means of identification in order to have opportunity to run in the April 25 parliamentary elections.
"The main concern of Albanians abroad are the delayed deadlines from the diplomatic headquarters where they can carry out renovations, as they are out of the election deadline. This prevents them from running in the next election. We have informed the CEC and addressed the Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs.