CEC for the ombudsman's indictment: We carried out the election law

The Central Election Commission has decided not to comment too much during the indictment the ombudsman filed with this institution a day earlier.

The Central Election Commission has certified 1 067 candidates for MPs -- of them 343 women and 724 men -- but the ombudsman is not at odds. This institution has indicted the CEC over violation of the right to equal treatment of women in electoral and participation rights. The lawyer says that the CEC, under its mandate, has certified lists with the names of candidates for MPs proposed by political subjects for early elections for the Kosovo Republic Assembly, but has not taken into account constitutional and legal guarantees regarding gender equality, specifically equal treatment of women in election rights and participation.

CEC spokesman Valmir Elezi has said they do not comment on the indictment in question after it has already surrendered to the Constitutional Court in Pristina. He has indicated to Kosovo Press that this institution has supervised implementation of Article 27 of the law on general elections related to gender quotas.

Similarly, the Ombudsman has demanded that the CEC ban the enterprise of activities that violate or may violate the right to equal treatment, or conduct activities that eliminate discrimination or its consequences in connection with the uneven treatment of women in electoral rights and participation.

The ombudsman has attached the indictment in question for temporary measures in the electoral process, on the basis of arguments presenting indictments in question, and asks the Court to approve this measure, with the CEC cases -- as an unknown party -- to reconsider the lists of political parties in order to comply with the following provisions of Law No. 05 L-020 for Gender Equality, Article 6, paragraph 8: Equal gender representation in all legislative, executive, and judicial organs and other public institutions is achieved when the minimum representation of 50 percent (50%) for each gender, including their governing and decision-making bodies, is provided. Article 14: Political parties with their actions are obliged to implement measures to promote equal participation of male and female bodies and party bodies in accordance with provisions of Article 6 of this law.

The Central Election Commission has certified 1 067 candidates for deputies, of them 343 women and 724 men.

The Law on Gender Equality was adopted by the Kosovo Assembly in 2015, while the CEC has subsequently organised with the same law currently implementing two election, parliamentary and local elections in 2017.

The Law for General Elections in the Republic of Kosovo has been adopted by the Parliament in June 2008, a few months after Kosovo's declaration of independence.