TIRANA, MARCH 28, 2013     The U.S. Embassy introduced today the U.S. Government programs that will support Albania's 2013 Parliamentary Elections.  U.S. Ambassador to Tirana, Alexander Arvizu, Chairwoman of the Central Elections Commission, Lefteri Lleshi, Deputy Chair of the  Central Elections Commission, Denar Biba, and representatives from civil society participated in the launch.

“The administration and organization of elections is intense and complex work.  Those of us on the outside should not underestimate the difficulties and pressures you face every day,” said Ambassador Arvizu in his remarks. “To assist you, the United States is providing the latest technical assistance to the Central Election Commission, in particular focusing on Information Technology to improve the technological capacities of the CEC for these and future elections. With better IT systems in place, we can expect a more efficient and transparent reporting of elections results.”

Assistance to the Albanian Central Elections Commission will be implemented through USAID. In addition, USAID will provide support to the Coalition of Domestic Observers, which will monitor the entire electoral process and the National Democratic Institute, which will perform international observation work.  USAID is also supporting a local organization, Assist Impact, to conduct domestic monitoring.