Vanovac: If the CEC fails to act on the ECAP’s order, it is clear that one media outlet is being discriminated against

The President of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM), Ivana Vanovac, stated that DNKiM demands that the Central Election Commission (CEC) explain why it has failed to comply with the order of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP), which upheld the complaint filed by VIM INFO, the founder of the Kosovo Online portal, against the CEC’s decision to deny Kosovo Online accreditation to cover tomorrow’s elections.

“We demand that the CEC explain why it has not used this day, why it has not complied with the ECAP’s order. There was enough time,” Vanovac said.

She emphasized that the CEC’s inaction renders meaningless the ECAP’s decision to uphold Kosovo Online’s appeal.

“If the CEC fails to act as expected, that will be a clear indication that it is openly discriminating against one media outlet, and that, at the same time, the decisions of the ECAP, as an independent body, are not binding on that commission—which is absurd. Discrimination is unacceptable, especially in an electoral process where everything must be as transparent as possible, because institutional openness is the only way to ensure that the process is democratic and trustworthy,” Vanovac stated.

Despite the ECAP’s decision to uphold the complaint filed by VIM INFO, the founder of the Kosovo Online portal, and to annul the Central Election Commission’s decision denying accreditation to the portal’s reporters for coverage of tomorrow’s local elections, the CEC has still not reconsidered the accreditation of the portal.

The ECAP notified both VIM INFO and the CEC of its decision to uphold the complaint and its finding that the denial of accreditation was unfounded more than seven hours ago.