REGULATION

Article 1

This act establishes the rules on the CEC organization and functioning, including: the rights and obligations of the CEC member, procedures for calling, announcing and holding the CEC meetings during election and non-election time, organization of the CEC personnel of civil and non-civil service, decision-making procedures, rights and duties of representatives of political parties in the CEC, the procedures of receiving and administering the funds of the CEC activity as well as the rules on the establishment, administration and storing the documentation in the CEC.

Article 2

1. The CEC duties derive from Constitution, law no. 9087, date 19.06.2003, “The Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania”, amended and specific laws.

2. The CEC activity is based on the principles of legitimacy, collegiality, independence, professionalism, impartiality and transparency.

Part I
Composition of the CEC

Article 3

1. The CEC is a collegial body.

2. The chairman and deputy chairman have the same rights and duties as other members of the CEC, with the differences provided in the Electoral Code.

3. The CEC elects its chairman and deputy chairman according to the procedures provided in the Electoral Code and this regulation.

Article 4

1. The CEC has its administration, which consists of civil servants.

2. In special times, the CEC might recruit additional part-time staff.

3. The powers and procedures for recruiting the permanent and provisional staff are also provided in this act.

Part II
The rights and duties of the CEC members

Article 5

The rights of the CEC members derive from the Constitution, the Electoral Code and other laws.

Article 6

1. The CEC member, in exercising his functions, has the following rights and duties:

a. he demands information and support from the CEC administration and has access and consult each document filed to the CEC;
b. he demands and receives assistance from the CEC secretary or administration when the CEC meeting is called;

c. is informed about the order of the day of the CEC meetings and the relevant materials two days ahead of the meeting and no later than three hours before the meeting.

Part three
Duties of the CEC members

Article 7

1. The CEC member, along with the obligations provided in article 23 of the Electoral Code, shall:

a. inform the CEC when he participates in events in the capacity of the CEC member;
b. inform the CEC in the cases when he exercises activities pursuant to the article 29, point 3 of the Electoral Code;
c. adopt stands in compliance with the decisions, instructions or other acts of the CEC, when he represents the institution in relation to third parties, the public and the media;
ç. follow and observe the recognized and accepted norms of ethics in his
communication and conduct.

Part IV
Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the CEC

Article 8

1. The Chairman is elected among the CEC members with secret voting, according to the procedures provided in the article 27, point 1 of the Electoral Code.

2. The deputy Chairman is elected according to the procedures provided in article 27, point 3 of the Electoral Code.

Article 9

1. The Chairman has the following powers:

a. Chairs the CEC meeting and supervises the preparation of materials to be discussed in the CEC meeting;
b. Represents the CEC in relation to third parties. He consults and regularly briefs the CEC members on specific issues;
c. Regularly informs the CEC members on the activity of the administration.

2. The deputy Chairman of the CEC performs the duties of the Chairman when the latter is absent;

Article 10

1. The Chairman submits to the CEC, within December, the agenda of activities for the coming year.

2. The Chairman, along with the CEC administration, prepares, within January, the annual draft-report to be filed in Parliament.

Part V
The CEC administration

Article 11

1. In order to function and perform duties that derive from the Constitution and the Electoral Code, the CEC has its permanent administration.

2. The CEC administration consists in the personnel, which is recruited pursuant to the law no. 8549, date 11.11.1999, “On the Civil Servant Status”, and Labor Code.

3. The number of the personnel, the staff list and payment structure are established with the CEC decisions.

4. The functioning, duties and rights of the CEC administration are established in a specific regulation.

Article 12

1. The civil servants of the CEC administration are appointed and dismissed with the CEC decision.

2. Following the procedures of the personnel recruitment, the CEC, through its decisions, establishes the selective structures.

3. The CEC determines the criteria the CEC personnel must meet.

4. The proposal for dismissal of the CEC personnel might be made by a member, the secretary and each director for its subordinates.

5. The provisional staff in the CEC is appointed and dismissed by the CEC secretary upon the proposal of the respective director.

Article 13

1. The CEC spokesperson is appointed by the Commission upon the Chairman’s proposal.

2. The spokesperson regularly informs the public, through the media or other outlets, on the CEC activity.

3. When there is a press conference, the spokesperson sends a brief content of the material to the CEC members.

4. The spokesperson offers assistance and technical support when a CEC member wants to issue an official statement in the media.

Article 14

1. The representatives of political parties, their rights and obligations are determined pursuant to the provisions of article 33 of the Electoral Code, amended.

2. The data on representatives of political parties are kept in a special register, which is administered by the Protocol. A copy of this register is sent to the CEC members and all departments.

3. The model of the register is approved by the Chairman.

4. The CEC provides the respective identification document for representatives of political parties, according to the model passed by the CEC chairman.

Article 15

1. The representatives of political parties must submit the written authorization signed by the party chairman to the CEC.

Article 16

1. The representatives of political parties attending the CEC meeting put forth opinions and/or proposals on the procedures stipulated in this regulation. They cannot delegate their representation right or other rights to other people.

2. The CEC secretary delivers the announcement on the day, time and the order of the day of the meeting to the representatives of political parties no later than two days before the meeting.

3. During election time, the CEC secretary sends an announcement to all the representatives of political parties no later than two hours before the meeting.

4. In each case, the materials on the order of the day of the meeting are delivered to representatives of political parties. The representatives of other parties can receive them in the secretary’s office or the Protocol.

5. Copies of the CEC acts are sent to representatives of political parties by the CEC Secretary. The representatives of other parties can receive their copies in the Protocol’s Office.

6. The CEC secretary sets a timetable, during which the representatives of political parties can receive documents close to the Protocol Office or Archive.

Part I

Calling, announcement and preparation of the meeting

Article 17

1. The CEC meetings are called, announced and prepared according to provisions of article 30 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania, amended.

2. The announcement of the meeting is drafted in three samples and contains the date, time and order of the day and the respective signatures. This act is sent to the Protocol Office to be registered.

3. If the meeting has not been called by the Chairman, he is informed in advance through a copy of the meeting announcement.

4. The meeting announcement is immediately sent from the protocol to the CEC secretary, who is responsible for notifying other members and representatives of political parties.

5. A copy of the meeting announcement is put in the assigned place at the entrance of the CEC and is published in the CEC official web page.

Article 18

1. The material of each issue to be discussed in the CEC meeting shall contain:

a. the explanatory report
b. supporting material
c. as a rule, the draft-act

2. The explanatory report includes the reasons and/or causes why it is demanded the discussion of the respective issue in the order of the day, the purpose and depending on the case, the financial expenses for the implementation of this act. The supporting material includes acts, reports, information etc. that support the explanatory report.

Article 19

1. Except for the cases when the meetings are called to examine issues included in the annual work program of the CEC, the draft-act and the report are prepared in advance by those who call the meeting.

2. The order of the day materials, prepared according to ther point 1 of this article, when deemed reasonable, are sent to the Legal Department for further adjustments of formal character, depending on the kind of act to be approved.

3. The secretary and/or the respective departments must respond no later than three days after receiving the respective materials.

4. After these procedures, the callers of the meeting sign the report and deliver the relevant material of the order of the day and meeting announcement to the Secretary.

Article 20

1. The CEC secretary is responsible for preparation of meeting materials of the CEC, in case of issues/acts which are part of the annual work programme of the CEC, or which derive from the enactment of CEC decisions and instructions. In this case, the secretary consults the CEC chairman in advance.

2. The materials of the meeting prepared according to the case, follow this procedure:

a. The Chairman assigns the department that shall prepare the report and the draft-project;
b. The respective department forwards the material for feedback to the other departments of the CEC;
c. Each department gives in opinion in writing on what it was required;
d. The legal department gives its opinion and formats the report and draft-project juridically, after the other departments give their opinion and sends the respective material to the department responsible for the draft-act.
e. the prepared material is sent to the secretary for approval;
f. the secretary approves the material and adds other materials which are attached to the report.

3. The secretary submits the file with the documents prepared pursuant to point 2 of this article to the Chairman.

4. After receiving the respective material, the Chairman informs the members.

5. In each case, the secretary is responsible for dissemination of the copies of meeting materials to the CEC members.

Article 21

1. For each issue of the order of the day, a separate file is prepared containing data on the issue.
2. The file with the original materials of the meeting is kept by the department that prepared the draft-act. If the materials are prepared by the CEC members, the respective file is kept by the Secretary.

Article 22

1. The secretary, through the relevant structures, is responsible for storing and administering meeting materials electronically, in their final version before they are addressed in the respective CEC meeting.

2. In each case, the meeting materials, along with the meeting announcement, are published in the CEC web page.

3. The materials of the meeting are stored in an electronic data base, for no less than six months.

Part II

Conduct of the meeting

Article 23

1. The CEC members arrive on the day and time the meeting has been called, in the meeting room of the CEC.

2. As the meeting starts, its chair declares the members present in the meeting.

3. If the necessary quorum for holding the meeting is not reached, the meeting is postponed, but for no more than three days.

Article 24

1. All the CEC meetings are electronically recorded with a sound and/or picture and a minute is kept in a concise form (stenography).

2. The day of the meeting, the issues addressed participants, discussions, proposals and the decisions taken are recorded in the minute.

3. The minute of the meeting is sent to the CEC protocol office immediately after the meeting.

4. The recordings of the meetings are stored in the Archive, according to the procedures established in the regulation and other acts.

Article 25

1. Before the meeting starts, the CEC secretary assigns the seats.

2. During the meeting, it is not allowed to interrupt the speaker, except when provided otherwise in this regulation.

3. Speaking without permission, use of mobile phones and smoking are also forbidden.

4. The participants in the CEC meetings observe the rules of communication and ethics.

Article 26

1. The chair of the meeting is responsible for keeping the order.

2. If the rules on the conduct of the meeting are violated, its chair may decide to suspend it, but for no longer than 30 minutes.

3. If holding the meeting is impossible, then the CEC rules its postponement by voting and without debate.

Article 27

1. In the beginning of the meeting, after reading the order of the day, the chairman, based on the article 30, point 4 of the Electoral Code, asks the participants if they have any discussions on issues which are not included in the order of the day, recording the speakers depending on the case.

2. After the registration of the speakers, the chair gives the floor to the speakers according to the order of registration.

3. After the registered discussions end, none of the participants can ask and take the floor on issues that are not in the order of the day.

Article 28

1. The order of the examination of the case in the CEC meeting is the one determined in the order of the day.

2. The CEC, by consensus, may decide to change the order of issues to be discussed in the order of the day.

Article 29

The people who have the right to discuss and give opinions in the CEC meetings are: the CEC members, representatives of electoral subjects, according to the article 33 of this Code and upon the CEC permission, the people working on the preparation and administration of elections.

Article 30

1. The examination of the issue starts with the report prepared by the head working on the issue and/or secretary, whereas in cases when the draft-act has been prepared by CEC members, the report is submitted by them. The report is presented in a concise form.

2. After the report is read, the participants have the right to ask questions, demanding explanations on different elements of the report.

3. The participants who would like to ask questions, should make their request in advance.

4. The chair of the meeting registers the participants who have questions and after that, according to the registration order, allows the participants to make questions.

5. During the answers, interrupting the speaker and/or comments are forbidden.

6. After the answers, the participants can ask questions only if they receive the permission of the meeting chairman.

Article 31

After the procedure provided in the article 30, the chair of the meeting opens the discussion in principle on the issue.

Article 32

The head of the CEC invites the participants, starting from the members, to discuss on the issue.

Article 33

1. Before the examination of the issue, the CEC sets a time for each speaker. The time available for the CEC members is 1.5 time as much.

2. The participants have the right to take the floor again only once, for no more than 3 minutes, but however, no longer than the time of the first discussion.

3. In special cases, the chair of the meeting allows the participants to take the floor.

Article 34

1. The end of the discussions is done with the CEC decisions.

2. Each member of the CEC has the right to put an end to the discussions.

Article 35

1. After the end of the discussions, the chair of the meeting invites the participants to formulate their proposals.

2. The chair of the meeting, after consulting with the members, sets the voting order of proposals.

3. Before the voting starts, each member of the CEC has the right to comment on it, but for no longer than 3 minutes.

Part III

Decision-making

Article 36

1. In examining the draft-act, the Commission decided by a special voting, on the content of each article or part, depending on the case.

Article 37

1. In each case, the draft-act shall be voted only after voting the other proposals.

Article 38

1. The voting in the CEC is open. The open voting is done by raising the hand, electronically or by statements.

2. The voting is secret only in cases provided by law.

Article 39

1. The chair of the meeting states the name and vote of each member.

Article 40

1. The secret voting is done according to the following procedure:

a. The CEC passes the ballot sheet with its decision;
b. The CEC members vote according to the alphabetical order of their name;
c. The ballot is marked only in the secret booth;
Ç. The ballot is put in the ballot box folded so that the vote cannot be identified.

Article 41

1. The act passed by the CEC is in a written form and contains:

• The emblem of the Republic of Albania;
• Name of the institution;
• Title of the act
• Object of the act;
• Legal reference
• The reasoning part
• The order part;
• Names of the members that took part in the voting;
• The CEC logo;
• Number, date and approval date.

2. The act is signed by the members who voted it.

3. Each act can be accompanied, depending on the case, with a parallel opinion and/or minority opinion.

Article 42

1. The act is drafted in two copies.

2. The signatures of the CEC members are also put in the attachments of the approved act.

Article 43

1. The department that prepared the draft-act, writes his reasons and passes it to the CEC members for approval.

2. The CEC members sign the act and if they do not agree with the reasoning part, they might put forth a parallel opinion.

Calling, announcing and preparation of the meeting

Article 44

Calling, announcing and preparation of the meeting during election time complies with the procedures in chapter III, the first part of this regulation, except cases explicitly provided by law.

Article 45

During election time, the meeting is called to an end with the CEC decision.

Part II
Conduct of the meeting

Article 46

1. The meetings are conducted in compliance with the procedures on holding the meetings in normal periods of time.

2. The CEC rules a special decision for exceptional cases.

Part three
Decision-making

Article 47

The CEC decisions in election time are taken according to the procedures provided in Chapter II, part II and III.

Article 48

The rules on the content, form and procedure of the decision in election time, except for decisions on election complaints, are provided in Chapter III, part three.

Part IV
Handling of Election complaints

Article 49

1. The ways and procedures of presenting, relating and handling of the election complaint are provided in article149-164/4 of the Electoral Code.

2. The decisions taken by the CEC after the handling of complaints are justified by the Relater.

Article 50

1. The budget is passed with the CEC decision, according to the deadline established by the Ministry of Finance.

2. The Finance Department, no later than a month after the examination of the draft-budget in the CEC, prepares the respective material.
Article 51

1. The CEC administers the funds allocated by the State Budget and other legal sources. The expenditure structure is passed with a decision of the CEC.

Article 52

1. Issues related to financing the electoral subjects are passed with the CEC decision.

Article 53

1. The donations for the CEC with a value up to 300, 000 lek, are accepted at the approval of the CEC chairman.

2. The donations to the CEC with a value grater than 300 000 lek, are accepted with the CEC decision.

Receiving, circulation and administration
of documents entering the CEC

Article 54

1. Each document or paper that is sent to the CEC by third parties is immediately recorded by the protocol employee in the respective register. The number and registration date is written in the above document.

2. The recorded document is immediately sent, within the registration date, to the CEC chairman.

Article 55

After the CEC chairman assigns it to the respective department, the protocol employee immediately delivers the document to the latter.

Article 56

When the CEC chairman sends the document to several departments, the protocol employee sends it to the first department in the list.

Article 57

The CEC members are informed of the papers entering the CEC, depending on the case.

Part II
Documents sent by the CEC

Article 58

In each case, the documents coming out of the CEC and are addressed to third parties, bear the Chairman’s signature. In the absence of the Chairman, they are signed by the deputy chairman and in special cases, with the Chairman’s authorization, by another member of the CEC.

Part III
The circulation and administration of the practice of the CEC acts

Article 59

After the approval of the act, the respective file is immediately completed with the data corresponding to the number and date of the act.

Article 60

The normative acts of the CEC are immediately sent for publication to the Official Journal by the CEC secretary and in his absence, by Human Resources Department.

Part IV
Registration of acts and documents in the CEC

Article 61
The acts and documents of the CEC are recorded in the following registers:

a) Register of Correspondence;
b) Register of the Circulation of Internal Documents;
c) Register of the CEC decisions;
ç) Register of the CEC instructions
d) Register of Complaints;
dh) Register of Observers;
e) Register of Chairman’s Orders;
ë) Register of Procurement Orders

1. The registers are administered by the protocol’s office.

Article 62

The CEC regulation, passed with decision no. 52, date 19.01.2001, “On adoption of the Regulation for the CEC functioning”, is invalidated.

Article 63

This regulation comes into force within 15 days after it is published in the Official Journal.