How the diaspora vote is counted today
In the 2025 parliamentary elections, Albanians abroad voted for the first time from the countries where they live. Nearly 250,000 voters registered from abroad.
Yet their votes were not counted in an electoral area dedicated to the diaspora.
A citizen abroad's vote was folded into the result of their district of origin. A voter originally from Korça was counted in Korça. A voter from Gjirokastra was counted in Gjirokastër.
So diaspora votes were scattered across all 12 districts and produced no direct representation for Albanians abroad.
The diaspora won the practical right to vote from abroad. It has not yet won the right to elect its own representatives.
Why scattering weakens representation
In a regional proportional system, seats are allocated within each district.
When diaspora votes are scattered across 12 districts, they become part of local results and create no dedicated seat for the diaspora.
The problem is not that the votes aren't counted. They are counted.
The problem is that they're counted in a way that gives the diaspora no distinct representation.
More registrations matter, but simply raising turnout doesn't fix this structural gap.
The solution is to create an electoral unit where diaspora votes are counted together and elect its representatives.
A model used in other countries
Dedicated representation for citizens abroad is not an unknown experiment.
Italy, France, Croatia, and Portugal use forms of electoral areas or dedicated seats for their citizens living abroad. The models differ, but the principle is the same: voters abroad can elect representatives directly tied to them.
Albania doesn't have to copy another country blindly.
It should create a model that fits the size of its diaspora, its proportional system, and the size of Parliament.
But international experience shows that direct representation of the diaspora is possible and workable.
A vote less dependent on local power
Many Albanians inside the country face economic or administrative dependencies that can affect their political freedom.
ODIHR's final report on the 2025 elections noted allegations of vote-buying, pressure on public employees, intimidation of opposition supporters, and misuse of patronage networks.
Albanians living abroad usually don't depend on the Albanian administration for their work, wage, or everyday services.
This doesn't mean the diaspora vote is fully immune to propaganda, family pressure, or party influence.
It means many voters abroad are less exposed to some of the direct forms of dependency and patronage that operate inside the country.
A dedicated district would give political weight to a group of voters that can vote with more independence from local structures.
The demand
We ask that the Electoral Code be amended to create:
- a dedicated electoral district for voters abroad;
- a defined number of reserved seats in Parliament;
- candidate lists that compete specifically for the diaspora vote;
- clear rules for registration, voting, and counting;
- full transparency and monitoring of the process;
- detailed publication of the results of voting from abroad.
The number of seats should be set through a credible legal and technical process.
It could be tied to the number of citizens abroad, the number of registered voters, actual turnout, or a combined formula.
The diaspora should be able to directly elect its own representatives in Parliament.
Not privilege. Representation.
We are not asking for one Albanian abroad's vote to be worth more than one Albanian's at home.
We are not asking for the diaspora to decide Albania's future on its own.
We are not asking for symbolic seats with no accountability to voters.
We are asking that a large share of Albanian citizens — the ones living abroad — not be left without representation of their own.
An MP elected by the diaspora should answer to diaspora voters, raise their issues in Parliament, and account for their work.
That is the meaning of democratic representation.