At the conference titled “Digitalization of Electoral Processes: Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Interinstitutional Coordination in the Western Balkans” invited as well was the Information and Personal Data Protection Commissioner, Mr. Besnik Dervishi.
In his speech delivered during the panel “Collaboration between state and non-state authorities and election administration institutions in safeguarding the integrity and credibility of elections” Mr. Dervishi emphasized that “the fields of responsibility of the Office of the Commissioner, the right to information, and the protection of personal data are closely linked to the activities of the Central Election Commission (CEC), both in terms of transparency and the conduct of regular electoral processes. From this perspective, fingerprint identification and electronic voting are important elements within the digitalization of elections, serving the exercise of the right to vote by Albanian citizens. This process is implemented in harmony with another fundamental right and freedom, that of protecting their personal data. The Albanian legal framework, as well as important international acts such as the Council of Europe’s Convention 108+ and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union, provide the necessary guarantees for addressing the challenges of the digitalization process. Continuous cooperation between institutions is required to achieve its realization.”
This activity was co-organized by the Central Election Commission (CEC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), and the Rule of Law Center at the University of Helsinki in Finland (Rule of Law Finland, University of Helsinki).