ID CARD PROCESS IN A RACE AGAINST TIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TIRANA 000247 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL PHUM AL SUBJECT: ID CARD PROCESS IN A RACE AGAINST TIME ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 15 the GOA announced its latest plan to reduce fees for ID cards for needy Albanians, establishing a fee schedule that eliminates entirely or significantly reduces the ID card fees for practically all Albanian citizens currently receiving public assistance. In contrast with previous schemes, this one requires ID card applicants to pay little or nothing up front - instead, the government itself will foot the bill for the cards. Almost immediately, the opposition Socialist Party (SP) declared the latest GOA move unworkable and insufficient and declared a boycott of further parliamentary plenary sessions until the GOA agrees to issue the ID cards for free. SP leader Edi Rama on April 17 said that the SP is ready to work with the GOA to find a solution, but said that if no solution is found the SP is also ready to "rise up to prevent a manipulated election." On April 15 the GOA provided the Embassy with the latest figures on ID card production. As of mid April, some 537,000 non-passport holders had yet to apply for an ID card, although according to Sagem there is still more than enough capacity to register and print cards for all 537,000. The problem remains, however, that far too few non-passport holders people are applying for cards. Unless current application rates increase, many voters will be left without either a passport or ID card come election day. END SUMMARY. ID Card Fees Reduced -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On April 15 the Council of Ministers approved a new fee schedule for ID cards, establishing a five-tiered schedule laying out fees ranging from zero to 1000 lek per card for certain groups (the full price for an ID card is 1200 lek, or about 12 dollars). The GOA decision also established a procedure for reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by ID card applicants required to travel to another town to apply for an ID card. The new plan eliminated entirely the ID card fee for Roma, the paralyzed, the blind, and for family members of the disabled who have no other income. People in jail or prison can also receive their cards for free. The GOA plan also lays out the following prices for other groups: -- 200 lek card fee: Pensioners; public university students; first time voters; people under 18 who are members of households receiving public assistance. -- 500 lek card fee: Certain categories of disabled who are on public assistance; people receiving unemployment benefits. -- 800 lek card fee: any pensioner not covered under the other provision for pensioners. -- 1000 lek card fee: State employees (and their family members) where the state employee earns less than 35,000 lek (appx. 350 dollars) per month. But the Devil is in the Details -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The GOA plan requires local governments buy full priced ID card vouchers, then re-sell the vouchers to eligible people at the discounted price. The central government will then reimburse the local governments at a later date, but the Minister of Interior said on April 17 that the GOA will front the money for municipalities that cannot afford to buy the cards. The opposition immediately claimed that local governments lack the money to buy the ID cards, and complained that the new GOA proposal is cumbersome and confusing. SP Parliamentary Group Leader Valentina Leskaj told PolOff that the plan will only further confuse voters, claiming that this is the third discount plan the government has announced in as many months. Leskaj also said that numerous mayors and other local officials had told her that they have no money to buy ID vouchers (a complaint seemingly diffused by the MoI's claim that the GOA will pay up front). Leskaj also stated (a claim seemingly backed by data provided to the Embassy by the GOA) that some 91 towns still lacked any registration center whatsoever. However, during an April 17 briefing for the diplomatic corps, Minister of Interior Nishani said that by the end of April all registration centers will be open and functioning. ID Card Production Moving Along, But Will it Be Enough? -------------- -------------- TIRANA 00000247 002 OF 003 ¶4. (SBU) On April 15, Deputy Interior Minister in charge of ID cards Ferdinand Poni provided DCM with a lengthy briefing on the registration and printing process for ID cards. Poni told the DCM that the GOA is entirely focused on getting IDs to the 537,000 people who lack passports and will not be allowed to vote if they do not receive an ID card by the June 28 election day. Poni said that of the 729,710 non-passport holders identified by the GOA, 191,821 had already applied for an ID card, with 537,889 left to go. (NOTE: Poni said the 729,710 figure - arrived at by comparing the entire civil registry to the lisds of passport holders - is the maximum number of Albanians who do not have passports. PoniQeqtimateS th!t some 200,000 of the 729,710 ha6e pro"ably ledt Albania with no record of tHeIp dEpQrtureQ meafIfg the number of passport-lesc AlbafialS CmulQ "eaQch less than 729,000. The /ppeQataofover one illion applicants between now and the elections, but admitted that the current number of daily applicants is only about half of available capacity. @oni said that of a planned 470 registration centQrs nationwide, 410 had opened and are working seven days a week. ¶5. (SBU) However, the GOA figures clearly show that in two northern districts - Diber and Kukes - Sagem's capacity to register ID card applicants barely exceeds the number of outstanding applicants, meaning that within a short time there will be more applicants than capacity to register them between now and the elections. In other words, time in these districts is quickly running out. Poni Blames Edi Rama for Sagging Registration Numbers -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Poni said that SP calls for free IDs had discouraged people from applying for cards in hopes that the cards would soon be offered for free. Poni gave the DCM a memo he had received from Sagem claiming a significant decrease in the number of applicants during the first two weeks of April. The memo said that nationwide, registration of applicants is running at only half-capacity. SP: The GOA Has No Real Plan -------------- ¶7. (SBU) SP strategist Kastriot Islami told PolOff on April 15 that the SP does not dispute the GOA figures in terms of ID cards registered for and printed, although the SP believes the number of people without passports is much higher than the GOA's 729,710 figure. Islami hotly (and only partially convincingly) disputed the notion that SP calls for free IDs had discouraged applicants, claiming that people are not applying because they can't afford the cards. Islami also criticized the latest GOA discount plan as "confusing and cumbersome," and said the fact that the GOA seems to come up with a new proposal every few weeks only adds to impression that the GOA has no plan to get IDs into the hands of those who need them and is only solving the problem in a piecemeal fashion. Islami said the GOA's ultimate goal is to depress voter turnout, which Islami said would hurt the SP and especially other, smaller parties. According to Sagem numbers, average daily registrations peaked in late March at 13,000 applicants per day, compared to an average of 9000 per day for the first two weeks of April. Doing the Math -------------- ¶8. (SBU) There are 57 working days left until June 12, which is the cutoff date for registering for an ID card in order to get it in time for the election. According to Ministry of Interior figures, there are approximately 9000 people applying for ID cards per day nationwide. Unfortunately, and also according to MoI data, only 55 percent (roughly 5000) of these 9000 applicants lack passports. At this current rate, it will take well over 120 days to register all of the roughly 537,000 applicants who remain without passports. So although the capacity clearly exists to register and print cards for all who need them, applicants are not coming in sufficient numbers for all passport-less voters to get cards by election day. TIRANA 00000247 003 OF 003 ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: Sagem and the GOA have done much to increase the printing and registration capacity of the ID card system, but have had less success in luring applicants. The fact remains that unless more applicants are convinced or cajoled into applying for cards, a large number of passport-less voters will not have ID cards in time for the election. The GOA certainly hopes that its latest reduction in the ID card fees will help bring in more applications, but the new system will only go into effect on May 1. CRISTINA