The Central Election Commission conducted a study tour to Helsinki, Finland, organized in the framework of the project “Integrity and Trust in Albanian Elections: Promoting Transparency in Political Financing and Safe Use of Information and Communication Technologies”, co-implemented by IDEA International and the Rule of Law Center of Finland.

The visit of the delegation headed by the State Elections Commissioner, Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi started with the reception by Mrs. Tuija Brax, Director of the Rule of Law Center at the University of Helsinki and continued with the meeting with Mr. Tuomas Nurmi, Election Commission Secretary, who provided valuable insights from the election processes in Uusimaa region.

The visit to the Department of Democracy and Public Law of the Ministry of Justice was a great opportunity to explore the way the Finnish electoral system functions and to discuss with Mr. Niklas Vilhelmsson, Head of Section and his team the key role the Department plays in organizing elections in Finland and their electoral system.

An important moment of the study tour was the meeting in the Finnish Parliament, during which the CEC Delegation was introduced to the role of the parliament in the area of financing of political parties, their monitoring and reporting.

Commissioner Celibashi expressed his appreciation to Mrs. Liliana Verdha, Permanent Consul General of the Albanian Consulate General in Helsinki, Finland, for the warm hospitality and detailed insights provided during the meeting.

He expressed his gratitude to the CEC partners, International IDEA, Helsinki Rule of Law Center and Finnish colleagues for the warm hospitality and the valuable knowledge they shared.