As the State Election Commissioner and on behalf of the Central Election Commission of Albania, I join the call of ACEEEO – Organization of European Election Officials against aggression in Ukraine. Solidarity with our colleagues from the Central Election Commission in Ukraine and all Ukrainian citizens.

The following is the joint call of the CECs of 24 European countries:

“Not the force of the bullet, but the force of the ballot!”

The ACEEEO community stands with Ukraine.

The Russian invasion is an attack against the democracy, the democratically elected leaders of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, and attack against the core values of our community.

We are not able to phrase this situation much better, than Volodymyr Klitschko said yesterday:

“The Ukrainian people have chosen democracy. But democracy is a fragile system. Democracy cannot defend itself, it needs the will of its citizens, the commitment of everyone. There is basically no democracy without Democrats”

We remain fully committed to our motto:

“Not the force of the bullet, but the force of the ballot!”