OSCE Presence in Albania

The OSCE Presence in Albania loaned satellite phones to the Albanian State Police to support their work in remote rural areas during the parliamentary elections on 23 June 2013, a similar service it provided in 2011 prior to the local government elections in the country. The Presence also covered the related communication costs.

The assistance forms part of the Presence’s support to Albania’s state institutions to make sure they can successfully administer the technical side of the electoral process in the country.

“Every Albanian citizen has the right to vote, and to have his or her vote be counted, regardless of whether the vote is cast in the most urban centre of a city or in a very remote valley,” Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, Head of the OSCE Presence, said. “These phones will help the Albanian State Police maintain communication during the elections even in the most remote parts of the country.”