Prishtinë, 13 January 2021 – The Ombudsperson, in accomplishing his entrusted mandate is closely monitoring the process for the Early Elections for the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. He stressed the importance of elections within a democratic system and emphasizes that the electoral process to be uncontested must be strongly based on the principles and guarantees established by the Constitution and the laws of the country.

As crucial for democratic state functioning, elections require indisputable integrity, powerfully supported on guarantees and principles set forth by the Constitution and the Laws of the country.

The Ombudsperson calls upon political parties to enforce the provisions of Law no. 05 / L-020 on Gender Equality, actually Article 6 and Article 14 of the law, in the lists of candidates for parliament members to respect gender equality, respectively representation of fifty percent (50%) for each gender.

The Ombudsperson, taking in account public’s reaction regarding the decision no. 42-2021, of 11 January 2021 of the Central Election Commission (CEC), for Verification of Applications for the Registration for Application Period of out of Kosovo Voters, states that verification process of applications is necessary to guarantee credibility of the electoral process. Notwithstanding, the right to vote is a guaranteed right for every person who has reached the age of eighteen, except when this right is limited by a court decision. While the law guarantees the right to vote out of Kosovo, it is state’s obligation that the electoral process is properly organized in practice so as to enable fair and democratic development of this process, by enabling the greatest possible involvement of citizens with the right to vote. Therefore, it is imperative that the CEC avoid any action that could limit the essence of the right to vote of voters outside of Kosovo, guaranteed by country’s legal framework.

The Ombudsperson calls upon all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and political parties to take into account the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and with regard to the activities related to the early elections for the Assembly of Kosovo to be held on 14 February 2021, to strictly comply with NIPH recommendations and the measures set out by the Government and the Ministry of Health for the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic.