The Central Election Commission of Kosovo has banned Albin Kurti, the leader of the largest party Vetevendosje, from running in the February 14 elections.
Sources from Vetevendosje confirmed the news for Exit News.
The Wednesday decision follows the ruling of the Constitutional Court which overthrew the Kosovo government led by Avdullah Hoti.
The ruling stated that no person convicted with a final decision by a Kosovo court in the last three years may be sworn in and serve as an MP.
In 2018, Kurti was convicted for throwing tear gas in Parliament in protest against border demarcation with Montenegro. Vetevendosje claimed that Kosovo lost territory. They protested in the same way against the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.
Albin Kurti was leading Vetevendosje’s election list as its candidate for prime minister.
On Monday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Kosovo requested from six institutions to verify the suitability of candidates for MPs.
Following the verification process, CEC announced on Wednesday that 47 out of 1,080 MP candidates were found to have been sentenced by a final court decision in the last three years.
Snap elections in Kosovo will take place after the Constitutional Court found the voting in of the Hoti government unconstitutional due to a decisive vote of MP Etem Arifi who had been sentenced to prison at that time.
