Radakovic: Denial of accreditation constitutes pressure on the free and democratic electoral process in Northern Kosovo

The Executive Director of the NGO Center for the Promotion of Democratic Culture (ACDC), Dušan Radakovic, told Kosovo Online that the decision to deny accreditation to the organization represents pressure on the free and democratic electoral process in northern Kosovo. He announced that an appeal would be filed and expressed confidence that the decision would be overturned.

Radakovic stated that he views the refusal to grant accreditation to ACDC for monitoring the extraordinary elections for the Assembly of Kosovo as pressure on the free and democratic electoral process in northern Kosovo.

“Our organization has been monitoring electoral processes since 2012. We have participated in every election cycle and have often been publicly commended for our work. At no point has there been a single complaint against us, whether from institutions, political entities, or citizens participating in the electoral process,” Radakovic said.

He recalled that ACDC had also monitored election processes that were subject to boycotts, emphasizing that the organization’s objective was to provide citizens with accurate information about electoral developments.

“As an organization, we were the only ones monitoring even those electoral processes that were being boycotted, precisely because we wanted to provide citizens with truthful information about election-related events. This is undoubtedly a form of pressure, and without us I do not know who will monitor the elections in the north. We will certainly exercise our right to appeal and expect this decision to be reversed,” Radakovic concluded.

The Director of the Office for Registration, Certification and Financial Control of Political Entities, Besnik Buxhala, stated that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had accredited an initial group of 761 observers, but that accreditation requests submitted by the Center for the Promotion of Democratic Culture (ACDC) and the Committee for Control and Observation had been rejected.

According to the decision denying accreditation to ACDC, which Kosovo Online reviewed, the Office for Registration, Certification and Financial Control of Political Entities concluded, during its review and evaluation of the documentation submitted by ACDC, that the application did not comply with Article 54, paragraph 1, of the Law on General Elections.

“An analysis of the statute and scope of activities of the organization concerned indicates that it does not conduct activities related to electoral processes or the protection of human rights, as expressly required by the applicable legal provisions governing the accreditation of election observers,” the decision of the Central Election Commission states.