The “VOTO 2017” application and the free phone line are presented today.

Today, the Central Election Commission presented “Vote 2017” application, and the free telephone line as well. This project was implemented with the support of the Council of Europe and aims to increase the transparency of CEC activity and provides the opportunity to make the voter more active in reporting and denouncing illegal actions in the election process of 25 June 2017.

In the opening speech, the Chairman of the CEC, Mr. Klement Zguri expressed gratitude and thanks to the Council of Europe for the financial support and technical assistance that has given to the CEC.

The Chairman of the CEC, Mr. Zguri pointed out that  “The Penal Code amendments increased the severity of punishing those offenses that violate voters’ right to vote freely and secretly, so this application is an opportunity for voters to report and denounce. The CEC will closely cooperate with the General Prosecutor’s Office that any corrupt or negative phenomenon that violates the electoral process standards faces the force of law.”

On the other hand, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, Mr. Claus Neukirch, underlined that support for the Smartphone application is part of an extensive assistance package for the CEC, which also includes the creation of a free phone line, the CEC website improvement, a national awareness raising campaign for the first –time voters, assistance for drafting rules on campaign financing and monitoring them as well as equipping and drafting a strategy for the CEC training center. “The support of the Council of Europe for the CEC and Albanian voters aims to help citizens to exercise and defend their right to vote,” said Neukirch.

The “Vote 2017” application is a free application that can be downloaded from any smartphone and has two main functions: to inform voters of the electoral process and allow them to report on various phenomena during the electoral process, especially corruptive actions. Meanwhile, the free phone line for the user, 0800 0803, will be available to voters to report and denounce election corruption.

The data in this application are processed and maintained by the CEC in full compliance with the provisions of the Law no. 9887, dated 10.03.2008 “On the Protection of Personal Data”, as well as in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the guarantee of the right to private and family life.

Making available the personal data of the user (telephone number for the Reports section) is mandatory for verification of reporting, but on the other hand is the will of each person to voluntarily provide the required information and to further proceed with the reporting.

Once the reported /denounced information has arrived at the CEC server, the latter implements a higher security standard for further storage and processing of this data, in full compliance with the provisions of the Law “On the Protection of Personal Data”.