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Preliminary Statement on the Voting Process of the 2013 Parliamentary Elections in the Tirana Election District

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tirana, 24 June 2013 - The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CFFE) is pleased to report that the voting process in the Tirana election district proceeded peacefully and was free from any incidents that could significantly impact the voting process. The report incorporates the data regarding the setting-up, opening, and closing of the polls, as well as the overall voting process on the Election Day. CFFE's main findings, which are based on a statistical sample of 350 voting centers for a 95% confidence interval with a margin of error of 4.8% for the Tirana election district, include:

  • With the exception of a few isolated incidents, voters were largely able to cast their ballots in an atmosphere free from intimidation and violence in voting centers.
  • The participation of voters in the Tirana election district was greater than in the 2009 parliamentary election. The participation of voters in the June 23rd, Parliamentary Elections was fifty eight percent (58 %) in the Tirana election district.

Coalition for Free and Fair Elections Second Report – Tirana District

23 June, 18.00 - The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (the Coalition) has deployed 350 voters to a random, representative sample of voters in the Qark of Tirana. In addition to reporting on the voting process, Coalition observers immediately report any incident that may significantly impact the voting process at the voting center they observed at. 

  • Up to 15:30, the Coalition has received 70 incidents at 69 different centers from their observers. Most of the incidents received so far are isolated and do not appear to reflect any larger trends.
  • The most common type of incident reported has been voters being allowed to vote for someone other than themselves, most often for a family member. Coalition observers have reported 16 incidents involving over 50 voters at 13 voting centers of voters being allowed to vote for someone other than themselves. This is a clear violation of the election code and all instances of family voting should be thoroughly investigated.

Press Release on the Opening of Voting Centers

June 23, 13:30 - Today, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (the Coalition) successfully deployed 350 observers to a random, representative sample of voting centers in the Qark of Tirana. Deploying observers to a random, representative sample in the Qark of Tirana allows the Coalition to extrapolate their observation findings to the entire Qark. The sample has a confidence level of 95% with a margin of error of 4.8%. Based on a sample of 350 voting centers in the Qark of Tirana, the Coalition's findings related to the opening procedures are as follows.

• Based on information received from the Coalition's non-partisan observers, the opening of the voting centers in the Qark of Tirana largely proceeded orderly with the exception of some procedural problems. Ninety-nine percent of voting centers were equipped with the necessary materials to begin the voting process, such as voter lists, ballot papers, and official stamps. According to CFFE data, 96.3% of Voting Centers in the Qark of Tirana opened within the first
half hour. Only 3.7% of voting centers in the Qark of Tirana opened late – after 7:30am. However, in 25% of the voting centers in the Qark of Tirana campaign material was not removed within 150 meters of the voting center. This is a violation of the Article 101/1 letter b of the electoral code.