Pellumb Shahini, author and director of the electronic voting project
“ALVOT”, says for Top Channel that a simple computer can allow citizens
to vote in a few seconds.
“The voting process is divided from the electoral reform. It is a technical process that should be based on the procedures of the Electoral Code. However, time wise, it is doable”, says Pellumb Shahini, Director of AVLOT.
Shahini says that a touch screen with pictures for each candidate is easier for voters than a long list with 63 parties,
“It has nothing to do with passwords and piracy. The CEC will issue a code for users and the database will be closed”, Shahini said.
But is it safe? Can it be manipulated?
“The company which wins the tender has every equipment, even battery and USB backups, in case of a power outage”, Shahini says.
He adds that the cost is not unaffordable.
“There are 4500 voting centers throughout Albania. If we place two computers for each center, one for identification and one for the voting, it could mount up to 4 million EUR”, Shahini calculates.
Pellumb Shahini says that electronic voting is doable for the next elections, but he says politics is to be blamed for not realizing it.
“They want electronic voting only when they are in opposition, because they feel safer that way”, he adds.
The first AVLOT projects were tested in 2009 and 2011, with a few thousand voters each time.
Top Channel
