Newsletter Za’Lart 2017, 23 June 2017

The first video reports on the donation of gifts and packages to people in need have just arrived in our platform dedicated to the publication of electoral irregularities. The reports come from the city of Shkodra, where the Egyptian community and other people in need are waiting in line to get food packages. This is happening a few hours before the start of the voting on June 25th. Link report and video . For a week now, Za’Lart is at the disposal of citizens and activists reporting election irregularities. Some of the reports have also been verified by journalists and reporters, who are working as part of Za’Lart 2017 team. So far, there have been about 120 reports from different parts of the country, and they refer to different electoral subjects. Some of the reported violations include the misuse of public administration and assets, and vote buying. Most of the reports come from the region of Shkodra, including the municipalities of Fushë Arrëz, Puka, Vau i Dejës, and Malësia e Madhe. Other zones also exposed to risk are Lezha, Kamza, Fieri, etc. The reports contain facts and aim at shedding light on the citizens’ perception of the elections, and how they are actually held. Even though the reported facts are not part of any investigation or administrative verification, they are important, as they encourage citizens to monitor the reality and exercise pressure on the institutions. Za’Lartshall welcome citizens’ reports even on the Election Day and during the process of counting and final administration of votes. We urge citizens to report the problems they face, and any violations that affects their right to vote. The reports shall be marked as ‘unverified’ until our verification teams and the institutions responsible intervene by their final findings.