Kosovo Supreme Court rejects appeals by the Serb List, Emilija Rexhepi and two PDK candidates

The Supreme Court of Kosovo has dismissed as unfounded all five appeals filed against the decisions of the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) concerning the final results of the snap parliamentary elections, including the appeal lodged by the Serb List, which argued that the political party For Freedom, Justice and Survival had secured a guaranteed seat reserved for the Serbian community largely through votes cast at polling stations located in municipalities with an Albanian majority.

In its appeal, the Serb List argued that this undermined the constitutional objective of ensuring the authentic representation of the Serbian community.

According to a statement issued by the Court, those allegations were found to be unfounded.

"Under the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the Law on General Elections, voting is personal, equal, free and secret, while the voter register does not contain information on voters' ethnic affiliation. Accordingly, there is no legal basis for the validity or legal effect of a vote to depend on a voter's ethnicity or on the demographic composition of the locality in which the vote was cast," the Court stated in its reasoning.

The Court further noted that the Serb List had failed to provide specific evidence demonstrating vote manipulation or other electoral irregularities that could have affected the election results.

"The allegations are based on assumptions and statistical comparisons, which do not constitute a legal basis for intervention in the election results," the ruling states.

The Court also found that the political entity which won the contested seat is a duly registered political subject representing the Serbian community and, therefore, concluded that the constitutional mechanism guaranteeing seats for the Serbian community had not been violated.

The Supreme Court also dismissed an appeal filed by Emilija Rexhepi, a candidate of the New Democratic Party, who sought judicial review of the legality of votes received by For Freedom, Justice and Survival at six polling stations in the Municipality of Prizren. She argued that those votes had been cast in settlements with a Bosniak majority and should therefore be examined in order to safeguard the seats guaranteed to the Serbian community.

The Court held that the ECAP's decision was lawful and well-founded, noting that Kosovo's electoral legislation does not link the validity of a vote to the ethnic affiliation of the voter and that neither the Constitution nor the law provides any basis for assessing votes according to the ethnic composition of a particular settlement.

The Court also rejected Rexhepi's second appeal, in which she claimed that there was a discrepancy between the demographic structure of certain places of residence and the election results, requesting that those votes be annulled in order to reallocate the parliamentary seat guaranteed to the Bosniak community.

The Supreme Court further dismissed appeals filed by Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) candidates Bekim Haxhiu and Qëndrim Kryeziu, who had requested a full recount of preferential votes cast for PDK candidates.

The Court found that the appellants had failed to submit sufficient evidence to justify a complete recount.

"The ECAP's decisions were adopted in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on General Elections of the Republic of Kosovo, and the grounds of appeal are not supported by convincing evidence that would justify intervention in the final election results," the Supreme Court concluded.