Support to the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Albania: Workplan Quarterly Update Report

Initial preparations for the project involved developing project documents, including the Workplan and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. These documents were submitted to USAID on September 20, 2016, and received final approval on September 21, 2016. During this period, iVote representatives attended the Association of European and Eurasian Election Officials (ACEEEO) Annual Meeting in Tirana, Albania, where they participated in a panel discussion on election technology. The meeting was hosted by the Albanian CEC, and iVote representatives met with USAID officials to discuss the project plan and requirements. The new Chair of the CEC, Denar Biba, was elected in parliament on November 1, 2016, with 77 votes. The System Requirements and Specifications (SRS) for the project were developed and approved by the CEC on November 5, 2016. The SRS defines the 8 modules to be created or modified, including the political party finance and political subject registration modules. iVote commenced work on the design and development of these modules, with the SRS completed on schedule and delivered to the CEC at the end of October. The project has three objectives: to develop CEC election management software prior to the 2017 parliamentary elections, to equip CEC staff with requisite IT skills to manage election processes, and to provide professional and technical support to CEC IT, Election Commissions, and other departments during electoral preparations. Key activities include the development of new election management software modules, the update and enhancement of core modules, and the implementation of training programs for CEC staff. The project timeline indicates that the development of new modules will continue through April 2017, with the modification of the political party registration and campaign finance and expenditure modules also ongoing. The CEC is expected to take several key decisions, such as the number of parliamentary seats per electoral zone, which will need to be included in the development of the modules.