Kosovo’s Central Election Commission rejects two NGOs — one did not recognize the Republic’s sovereignty
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has accredited 761 observers for monitoring the early parliamentary elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, which will be held on 7 June 2026, KosovaPress reports.
A negative response for observation was given to two organizations that did not meet the legal criteria, one of which referred to “Kosovo and M…” without recognizing the country’s sovereignty.
The Director of the Office for Registration, Certification and Financial Control of Political Entities, Besnik Buzhala, explained why two NGOs were denied the right to observe the electoral process.
“During the review and evaluation of the documentation submitted by this international organization, the Supervisory and Observation Board found that in its official documents it referred to the Republic of Kosovo using the terminology ‘Kosovo and Metohija,’ a formulation that contradicts the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Kosovo. The use of such terminology directly undermines the state subjectivity, constitutional integrity, and legal order of the Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, specifically Article 1, which states that the Republic of Kosovo is an independent, sovereign, democratic, unique, and indivisible state. The use of this terminology is also contrary to the fundamental constitutional principles of sovereignty, state identity, and respect for the legal order of the Republic of Kosovo by any entity seeking accreditation and activity within its territory,” he stated.
In addition to this NGO, the CEC also rejected another NGO, “Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture,” as an election observer because it was found not to carry out activities related to electoral processes or human rights protection, as required by the legal provisions in force for accrediting election observers.
CEC member Alban Krasniqi stated that the necessary election materials for diplomatic missions have been sent from Kosovo today and are expected to arrive within the next week.
In today’s meeting, the Central Election Commission also suspended the registered political party “Green Movement ECO,” giving it a 45-day deadline to hold its electoral assembly; otherwise, the party will be deregistered.
The CEC also decided on the appointment of members of the Polling Station Councils for regular and conditional voting, who will be engaged on election day for the early parliamentary elections on 7 June 2026.
According to the CEC decision, in 2,498 polling stations for regular voting (911 polling centers), 12,678 members will be engaged, 1,043 of whom are reserve members. In the next meeting, the appointment of around 700 additional members is planned for various municipalities across the country. Meanwhile, in 52 polling stations for conditional voting (38 polling centers), 192 members will be engaged. The members of the Polling Station Councils appointed by the CEC represent participating political entities and will be responsible for preparing and administering the electoral process at polling stations.
The CEC also decided on the appointment of members of Polling Station Councils in diplomatic missions, who will be engaged in the voting process to be held on 6 June 2026. According to the decision, in 47 polling stations across 30 diplomatic missions (17 embassies and 13 consulates) in 18 different countries, around 200 members will be engaged, representing various political parties.