The Central Election Commission (CEC) has decided that citizens aged over 80 who apply to be registered as voters with special needs in order to vote through mobile teams on election day will no longer be required to submit or attach a medical disability certificate or diagnosis.
According to CEC member Arianit Elshani, following this change, registration for these voters can be completed solely by presenting a valid identification document and a photograph of the voter holding the identification document.
The Director of the Office for Registration, Certification and Financial Control of Political Entities at the CEC, Besnik Buzhala, stated that the Secretariat has concerns regarding the administration of the process.
“The Secretariat’s concern is that if we remove this criterion for a large number of voters, it could affect the number of ballot papers available. This means that if the reserve ballots are used up, we would have to take ballots from the regular polling station batches. While this is an inclusive facilitation, it also presents administrative challenges,” he said.
CEC member from the Vetëvendosje Movement, Alban Krasniqi, assessed that the change is not problematic as long as institutional obligations are respected.
“I believe there is nothing wrong with bypassing a regulation in order to ensure inclusiveness for citizens, provided that the rights and obligations of both institutions and citizens are not disregarded,” he said.
CEC member from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Ilir Gashi, also expressed support for such a decision.
According to data from the voter list certified by the CEC, the number of citizens with voting rights aged over 80 is 48,977.
