By 11:00 a.m., in the 18 municipalities where the second round of local elections is being held, 80,569 citizens, or 6.13%, have exercised their right to vote.

This was stated by the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Kreshnik Radoniqi, during a press conference, who said that the voting process is proceeding normally so far.

“The voting process up to this point is proceeding normally, and no irregularities have been detected that could affect the integrity or overall flow. The CEC is in continuous communication with election staff in the field to ensure full compliance with the law. Based on preliminary data from 95% of polling stations, the number of eligible voters who had voted by 11:00 a.m. in these 18 municipalities is 80,569, or 6.13% of 1,316,672. At the same time, in the first round in these 18 municipalities, 7.58%, or 99,765 voters, had voted out of 1,316,129 eligible voters,” he said.

Regarding reported issues with citizens being denied assistance, Radoniqi said that persons who are illiterate have the right to vote but not with assistance.

To vote with assistance, these citizens must have a medical certificate.

“Persons who cannot read or write have the right to vote, but they do not have the right to vote with assistance. Their assistance can only extend up to the polling station, but not further—they cannot vote on their behalf. Voting with assistance for those who need it requires medical documentation proving that the person is unable to vote independently,” he said.

The next press conference by the Central Election Commission will be held at 15:30.

The electoral process is taking place in 525 polling centers, with a total of 1,648 polling stations: 507 centers with 1,628 stations for regular voting, and 18 special centers, one per municipality holding the second round of elections, with 20 polling stations to allow conditional voting.

The total number of eligible voters in these 18 municipalities is 1,316,672.