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OATH OF JUSTICE

ECAP's Lek for the Serbian List: The CEC itself has said that the conditions for certification have been met

The Chairman of the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Submissions, Zenel Leku, during an interview for Oath for Justice, showed how the Serbian List has been continuously certified by the institution it leads, despite the fact that the Central Election Commission voted against certification.

Leku said that the CEC itself has a mechanism that collects data on whether the conditions for the registration of political parties are met.

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"The Central Election Commission, when national or local elections began, has developed the certification process and there have been situations when a political entity has not been certified. Within the CEC there is a mechanism for collecting data that meets the conditions to be registered as a political party and to be certified. They make recommendations for each political entity as to which meets the conditions for certification. In this specific case, the CEC's recommendation was that all political entities meet the conditions for certification, including the Serbian List. Then, when the issue came up for voting, there was a vote against and an abstention, which consequently means that a political entity cannot be certified," Leku said.

Meanwhile, following the complaint of the Serbian List, Leku said that the CEC itself says that the conditions for the certification of the political party in question have been met.

"We have treated the case in terms of legal provisions, and according to the law, we have even given the CEC the opportunity to respond to the complaint of the entity that complained to the ECAP and their response was a form of confirmation because it said 'the conditions for certification have been met'. We have not had any material contrary to what is positive except that everything is in order, but it is the political will in this case that has dominated that a political entity cannot be certified and then we, in application of the law, have decided it as a case, but this has been repeated in all elections. Then we have been subject to attacks by a political entity because we are doing the work that we are doing according to the law", said Leku.

He also announced that during the last elections it was the first time that the Government of Kosovo did not allocate additional budget for the ECAP.

"Every time there have been elections in the past, at the request of the panel, the government has allocated additional budget for the elections that were held. This time, despite continuous requests, we have addressed the government, even the president... but we have not met with understanding, namely there has been no additional budget," said Leku.