Hoxha: The issue of certifying the Serb List can be used in the campaign by both the party itself and Albanian Parties

Lawyer and former Deputy Minister of the Interior, Valdet Hoxha, stated for Kosovo Online that, following the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel’s decision to uphold the appeal of the Serb List, the party may now be certified to participate in the October 12 local elections. However, he expects that both Albanian parties and the Serb List will seek to politically capitalize on this issue by sending messages to their voters aimed at increasing turnout.

Hoxha noted that, based on publicly available information, there is suspicion and a perception that some representatives of the Serb List had undertaken actions or voiced support for activities that were contrary to the constitutional order of Kosovo and undermined overall security. For this reason, and due to what he referred to as “potentially other information available to Kosovo institutions but not disclosed to the public,” the CEC initially refused to certify the Serb List for the elections.

“However, with the annulment of this decision by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, and should the matter eventually be brought before the Supreme Court, it appears that the Serb List may indeed be certified to participate in the elections. It is believed this will occur in the absence of any final judicial rulings against candidates on the list, which is the regular legal procedure,” Hoxha explained.

He further emphasized that he does not expect any political complications related to this issue during the October campaign.

“Nevertheless, given the political and security situation in Kosovo, I anticipate that this issue will be politically exploited both by Albanian parties and by the Serb List, in the sense of sending political messages to their voters with the aim of increasing turnout,” Hoxha added.

The Central Election Commission had previously refused to certify the Serb List for participation in the October 12 local elections, prompting the Serb List to submit an appeal, which was upheld by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel.

In its ruling, the Panel underlined that the Kosovo CEC does not have the right to reject or withhold certification of the electoral list of any political entity or candidate “in an arbitrary manner, without justification.”

Following this decision, the CEC retains the potential right to appeal to the Supreme Court.