The two largest parties governing Kosovo have clashed over Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti’s decision to disband the anti-corruption department in the ministry of interior.
Hoti ended the department last week, arguing that the move was necessary to “strengthen the balance of powers” in Kosovo. It implies that, being part of the government, the over 10-year-old department was unable to investigate government officials, and its existence weakened the work of the prosecutor’s office.
The ruling coalition ally, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj opposed the move on Saturday.
“Disbanding of the anti-corruption task force causes legal uncertainty,” Haradinaj wrote on his social media. He added that the department has investigated many high profile cases, independently of political affiliation of suspects.
He stressed the need for a planned reform of the institution and slammed its dismantling: “Any unplanned decision can be understood as political interference or retaliation against independent processes,” he stated.
Hoti replied that the disbanding of the department has not affected the work against corruption of its former employees.
“The work of officials who have been within the task force in the Kosovo Police continues without any change in the treatment of crime and corruption cases,” the prime minister from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
He added that former employees of the department will continue to fight corruption “without any interference from anyone.”
LDK and AAK are the two largest Albanian coalition partners. In June, the coalition was able to obtain the support of 61 deputies, the minimum required, for the current government.
Hoti’s decision to get rid of the anti-corruption task force came amidst positive reports on the department by the European Commission and EULEX.
The European Commission and German ambassador to Kosovo slammed the government’s move to dismantle it.
