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By:
Flaka Surroi
- 24 January 2026 08:00
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This is undoubtedly an unprecedented decision by the Chief Prosecutor of Prizren, Petrit Kryeziu. And at the same time, it is a double-edged sword – if he does not manage to prove the involvement of everyone in these criminal acts, the arrest of 109 people will turn out to be a performance. But, if there is a basis to accuse them all of theft, then we will discover that we have something that this country has long lacked: courageous people working in the justice system.
The fraud was so widespread in the municipalities where the recount was ordered that the CEC did the only correct thing it could: order a recount of all candidate votes in all polling stations in Kosovo, a total of 2557.
From the counting so far of about 53% of the total votes, it appears that only 4 AAK candidates and 2 each from VV and LDK have not been affected by vote theft. In PDK, absolutely everyone is involved – some with more votes, some with fewer votes, "borrowed" from the beneficiaries of this fraud.
If things had been different, if we weren't still experiencing the long-term political crisis and the deepening economic one, these elections would have had to be canceled altogether, because the entire democratic process has been compromised by the actions of commissioners and tellers at the municipal level, who, it turns out, have been stealing for someone else's account.
I would really like the recount to be completed when the next round of voting is due, so that we can understand if there is any municipality in Kosovo where there was no vote manipulation, or where it could have been passed off as human error, as a misrepresentation of one or two votes. If for nothing else, then for a small satisfaction – that not all people in this country are thieves.
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also
Some commissioners confirmed the violations, while others justified their lack of knowledge of the counting rules.
The first reaction to what was emerging came from the Basic Prosecution Office in Prizren. Ex officio, and after the publication of the results, it initiated procedures to investigate the case and after a few days, the prosecutor decided to detain 109 people believed to be involved in three criminal offenses for 48 hours.
An extraordinary action, because I don't know of any time that so many people have been detained at once. Moreover, the correctional capacities in Prizren are limited, and in emergency conditions they could perhaps even be held in the city's sports gym... however, the solution was found so that the detainees were distributed throughout Kosovo, until the next decision.
Without a doubt, this is an unprecedented decision by the Chief Prosecutor of Prizren, Petrit Kryeziu. And at the same time, it is a double-edged sword – if he does not manage to prove the involvement of everyone in these criminal acts, the arrest of 109 people will turn out to be a performance. But, if there is a basis to accuse all of them of theft; if he finds people willing to cooperate and to show who the order-givers were, if there were any, and how much money is involved when it comes to buying a vote – then we will discover that we have something that this country has long lacked: courageous people working in the justice system.
And when we talk about prosecutor Kryeziu, we will mention his father, an underground activist, who was killed in an ambush by Serbian police in 1992, during the harshest time of repression we had experienced. The prosecutor was 6 years old.
I have no doubt that this tragic fact has influenced Kryeziu's growth and development, but this should not be an argument to prove someone's personal and professional integrity - after all, this prosecutor has his own identity and should be evaluated from this prism. His work should speak for him.
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Just as the stolen votes should eventually show something about Fetah Paçariz, the PDK candidate for MP, who since the beginning of the recount holds the absolute record for fraudulent votes: 6754.
On January 10, Paçarizi wrote on his Facebook page that he felt "extremely appreciated and respected with 14,606 votes," which however did not secure him a seat in the Assembly. Despite the theft.
And the worst part of all this crap is that Paçarizi starts his promotional spot by saying from the beginning that he is a KLA veteran, actor and long-time director of the Prizren theater. The promo ends with these words: “I am competing with the dedication to protect the sacred values of our liberation war and to strengthen Albanian art and culture, as the foundation of our identity.”
If it turns out that Paçarizi was involved in any way in the falsification of election results, then the least he will have done is protect the sacred values of the liberation war.
If it turns out that he had a hand in adding almost 7 thousand votes to his account, it will have hurt quite a bit that part of his personality that bears the title of veteran. If Paçarizi was at the front and fought for liberation (I don't know more about him than what he says in the spot), I don't believe he fought for the day when, through fraud and forgery, the votes would be secured so that he could become a representative of the people.
also
109 arrested on suspicion of vote manipulation in Prizren
At least that's what logic tells me when describing a true veteran: ready for all sacrifices. And the (possible) theft of votes is anything but a sacrifice.
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Yesterday, among the 109 detainees was the son of former MP Nait Hasani (PDK candidate in these elections as well), who was engaged by PDK in the capacity of chairman at the table where the counting was done, along with members of other parties. Nait Hasani is second on the list of stolen votes within PDK with 3.334 votes.
On the other hand, among the detainees was also found the brother of candidate Paçarizi (I don't know in what capacity), while, according to sources, the other son of the brother of this same candidate was on the run (I don't know what he is suspected of for this either).
The Chief Prosecutor said that there had been manipulation throughout the Prizren region, and that they would deal with everyone, including the candidates, who immediately after the first results of the recount were released, came out with distancing messages, including Paçariz ("I want to clearly clarify that I am newly involved in politics and have never held political positions or responsibilities. I do not and have not had any influence on this process and I completely distance myself from any misuse or manipulation that may have been done in my name or to the detriment of the free vote").
Without prejudice, the chief prosecutor said that these people would also be questioned in their capacity as injured parties.
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Whatever the outcome of this, which began yesterday with mass arrests, from which only six commissioners escaped (in their class and in their box, there was no discrepancy in numbers), this will leave us with a very bad taste.
It will remind us for the umpteenth time that either the electoral system is reformed and we move to more electoral districts (something that has not been done since 2012) or the voting or counting system is digitized.
No equipment can be more expensive than endless recounts of votes and keeping tellers working from 8:00 a.m. to midnight.
No software can cost more than the shame and ridicule we experience with the mathematics of our cousins and friends.
also
ECAP rejects complaints of two PDK candidates for recount of votes within the party
Every day we are showing more and more how little love we have for this country.
