Democracy in Action (DnV) has presented the Preliminary Statement on the election process on December 28.

Eugen Cakolli from DnV concluded that the election process was generally conducted in a calm environment and without serious incidents that would directly affect the integrity of the vote.

The statement highlights and deals with the main findings related to the election administration, the functioning and decision-making of the CEC, the election campaign, race inequality, gender representation, voter roll reliability, overseas voting, and electoral justice. Also, the findings from Election Day, the process of voting and vote counting, the certification of political entities and the composition of candidate lists are addressed.

The Preliminary Statement is based on direct observation in the field and on data collected throughout the election cycle, aiming to contribute to an impartial and fact-based assessment of the December 28 elections.

Coalition of local organizations for the observation of the elections, Democracy in Action (DnV), estimates that the early parliamentary elections of December 28, 2025 were generally conducted in accordance with democratic standards for free and competitive elections. The general administration of the electoral process has been functional, although accompanied by challenges of an institutional, procedural and political nature, which in some cases have affected the quality and public perception of the process.

The voting process during Election Day has mainly developed in a calm and democratic atmosphere, without serious security incidents that could compromise the integrity of the elections. Voter turnout was relatively high, while most of the irregularities identified by DnV observers were of a procedural nature and did not affect the overall result of the election process.

The decision-making process of the election management bodies, in particular the Central Election Commission (CEC), was generally consensual. However, for some sensitive issues – such as the certification of political entities, voting abroad and the appointment of election staff – significant political clashes have been noted between CEC members, mainly between representatives of the ruling party and other members.

The process of certification of political entities was again accompanied by illegal decisions by the CEC. The initial refusal to certify the Serbian List, despite meeting the legal criteria, was corrected only after the intervention of the Electoral Panel for Complaints and Submissions (PZAP) and the Supreme Court. This case proved the influence of political considerations on administrative decision-making and undermined the trust in the institutional independence of the CEC.

The election campaign took place in a calm environment and without serious security incidents, but it was characterized by a weak level of civic enthusiasm and uneven participation of citizens in election activities. The campaign has been clearly personalized and centralized around the party leaders, limiting the role and programmatic appearance of the candidates for deputies.

Gender representation during the campaign and on the electoral lists has remained largely formal. Women have been underrepresented as speakers in campaign activities, and none of the political subjects has gone beyond the legal minimum of 30-35% representation of women in electoral lists, reflecting a lack of political will for real empowerment of women in politics.

Political discourse during the election campaign has generally been more moderate compared to past election processes. PZAP has dealt with a relatively limited number of complaints and no sanctioned case for the use of inciting or hateful language has been identified. However, significant fines have been imposed for violations of campaign rules, especially for placing election materials in public spaces and using public resources for electoral purposes.

Voting abroad has been one of the most sensitive segments of these elections. Legal changes have expanded voting forms for the diaspora, including physical voting at diplomatic missions and voting by mail. The interest of voters outside Kosovo has been high, especially in

voting in embassies, where a turnout of over 84% was recorded. However, the process of voting by mail has been associated with logistical challenges and concerns over security and institutional oversight.

The voter list continues to be a structural issue. Although the CEC has taken steps to clean and verify it, the total number of registered voters remains significantly higher than the resident population of Kosovo, undermining public confidence in the accuracy of the electoral roll.

The elections were monitored by a large number of observers. In total, over 19,000 observers have been accredited by the CEC, the vast majority of which belonged to political entities. The wide presence of observers has contributed to the transparency of the process, while the role of independent local observation remains essential for the objective evaluation of the electoral process.

Source: prizrenpost