
The Ombudsperson participated in a roundtable discussion on voting abroad
Prishtina, 12 May 2021 – The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj participated in a roundtable discussion organized by the NGO Germin which presented its analysis of voting from abroad in the elections for the Assembly of Kosovo held on February 14, 2021.
Mr. Qelaj said that he has received many complaints from citizens, including verification of applications abroad, difficulties in downloading ballot forms from the website of the Central Election Commission (CEC), as well as the non-inclusion of citizens with the right to vote in the list of voters.
The Ombudsperson reiterated that the legal framework of the Republic of Kosovo supports the exercise of the right to vote abroad. He added that based on the case law of the ECHR, when the state enables elections abroad and guarantees the same with the legal framework in force, it is the obligation of the state to organize elections in a genuine and transparent manner.
This report by Germin, among others, presented the obstacles in the voting process in diaspora and provided the data and results of the diaspora voting during the last elections in Kosovo.