Six political parties in Kosovo have appealed the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) asking them to change their electoral lists due to candidates deemed unfit for office.
Vetevendosje, the country’s largest party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), and four smaller parties are among those who filed complaints with the body of judges overseeing such issues.
It comes after the CEC found 47 MP candidates unfit for office, mainly for having received a criminal sentence in the last three years, as allegedly warranted by a Constitutional Court ruling and laws.
The CEC decision excludes Albin Kurti, the leader of Vetevendosje, from running in the February 14 elections.
Vetevendosje has accused the head of the CEC, Valdete Daka of abusing her office and siding politically against their party. They maintain that Kurti’s suspended sentence in 2018 for throwing tear gas in parliament in protest against border delimitation with Montenegro is not included in the type of sentences to prevent him from running for office.
The Constitutional Court highlighted in its ruling that brought to snap elections that anyone with a sentence of three years or more cannot run in elections. Some political pundits claimed that this excluded Kurti from the next parliament, others said the ruling was unwarranted, and targeted Kurti.
The parties have the right to further appeal their cases to the Supreme Court.
