Cakolli: Political theater in the CEC, decision will be overturned by higher instances

Senior researcher at the Kosovar Democratic Institute, Eugen Cakolli, expressed confidence that the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) not to certify the Serb List for participation in the October 12 local elections will be overturned by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP), Koha reports.

The CEC rejected the certification of the Serb List after two members voted in favor, two members from the Self-Determination Movement voted against, while seven members from other parties abstained.

Cakolli assessed that with this decision the CEC exceeded its mandate:

“Once again, the CEC, in pursuit of partisan discourse, has turned election administration into political theater. Today’s decision not to certify the Serb List is nothing more than a political act that will be annulled by the ECAP. With this step, the CEC has gone beyond its competencies, intruding into an area that belongs solely to judicial and security institutions,” Cakolli said, according to Koha.

He further emphasized that the law is clear: any registered party is automatically certified unless it fails to meet administrative requirements.

“As for individual candidates, restrictions apply only if they have legal shortcomings, including criminal convictions with an effective prison sentence within the last three years. As long as there is no law designating an entity as a terrorist organization, it must be treated like any other participant meeting the formal criteria. Even if such a designation were adopted, it would remain contentious,” he noted.

Cakolli concluded that turning the CEC into a “political battlefield” harms Kosovo.