Rapajic: It is difficult to prove specific responsibility for irregularities found in vote counting

Aleksandar Rapajic, program director of the NGO Center for the Promotion of Democratic Culture from North Mitrovica, told Kosovo Online that it is very difficult to prove specific responsibility for the irregularities identified during vote counting after the elections held on December 28, and that it is possible there will be no judicial outcome.

He said that the recounting of votes for parliamentary candidates will lead to a delay in the constitution of the Assembly.

“Until the exact composition and structure of the Assembly are determined, it cannot be constituted,” Rapajic emphasized.

He added that this involves manipulation within a single party only, which does not affect party results but only the ranking within the party list.

“Changes can occur only in the ranking of parliamentary candidates within a single party, and there can be no change in the overall election results for parties. That part has already been completed and confirmed,” he noted.

Explaining how vote counting is conducted in Kosovo, Rapajic said that at polling stations only votes for parties are counted, while votes for individual candidates are counted in separate counting centers, where all votes from a municipality are collected.

“I cannot say with certainty how the manipulations occur. My assumption is that certain committee members from a particular party favor the candidate they support, probably by additionally marking that candidate’s number,” he said, adding that the entire electoral system is now fully recorded, including the counting in the counting centers.

He believes that there is little public interest among voters in these issues, since they concern changes within parties, which are of less interest to voters except those actively involved in party work.

“The fact that irregularities have been identified does not mean that it has been established who is responsible for them. That is the more difficult part because even if you can roughly know who did it, it is very hard to prove specific responsibility. I fear that these irregularities will not have a judicial outcome, but will only result in stricter oversight in the next elections,” Rapajic concluded.