Kryeziu: The CEC's decision not to certify Serb List candidates is political, not legal

Ismet Kryeziu, Executive Director of the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), assessed that the Central Election Commission's (CEC) decision not to certify the Serb List candidates for the February 9 elections is more politically motivated than based on legal criteria.

"Although the CEC is composed of representatives of political parties, its decisions should not be motivated by party preferences, but should be based on the Constitution and the law. The failure to certify the Serb List more closely resembles a politically motivated decision than one based on legal criteria," he stated on Facebook.

Kryeziu highlighted that this case is one of several decisions that the CEC has made, but which were later changed or annulled, which, according to him, demonstrates a lack of coherence and professionalism in the work of this institution.

In this context, he reminded that the Office for the Registration of Political Parties recommended certifying the Serb List, stating that it meets the legal criteria.

"The CEC should rely on this recommendation and the guidance of other institutions and act in accordance with the law. Political views or individual statements of members of a party should not be mixed with the criteria for certification. If this practice were applied to all parties, many of them should not be certified," Kryeziu pointed out.

He added that if the competent institutions, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, have filtered the candidates to certify them, then the CEC should not interfere in deciding the criteria and evaluations.