Elez: We cannot give exact date to announce final results

Counting of election ballots for mayors and members of municipal municipalities has ended on Sunday and October 17th, while now at the Counting and Results Centre, acceptance of the election material is under way. So said Central Election Commission spokesman Valmir Elezi, who added that I cannot give any exact date when the announcement and certificate of the final results of the 17 October local elections will take place.

According to Elez, the preliminary election results of mayoral elections and the results of political subjects for Communist states have appeared on the CEC app.

The CEC spokesman announced that the election material has arrived at the Counting and Results Centre from all Kosovo municipalities, and the whole process has been under Kosovo Police supervision.

The “Actually after Sunday evening all procedures were completed at the polling site, including counting ballot papers from the mayoral elections and those for the Municipal Places, at the Counting Centre and Results are becoming the acceptance of election material from all locations. This process is of particular importance, as through it we will know about the state of any polling and, of course, that eventual irregularities can be identified. At the end of the election material's accession, we will have a detailed report on the findings”, Elez said.

Elez has said they cannot give a precise date of how many days the CEC needs, first to announce the results for mayors and then to certified them.

According to him, prior to the announcement of final results, counting of votes with conditions, votes by mail and votes of persons with special needs becomes made.

We cannot give a precise date for how many days the CEC needs, first, to announce the final results for the mayors of the municipalities and then, for their Certificate. The CEC will work fully for us to reach legal deadlines, so that we can prepare for the second round of elections for mayors of municipalities, which by law should be held four weeks after the second round. In the past, in the election of 2017, The CEC has taken nine days to announce the final results of the Communist Speakers' elections and another 3 days to certified their outcome. However, we should expect the continuation of procedures on how much time will take in the QNR to know then when the announcement and certificate of results will be made”, he stressed.

He also said it is important that the CEC be carried out as soon as it is carried out all procedures in the CNR to continue with announcing final results.

The Law on Local Elections envisions that if neither candidate wins more than 50% +1 votes in the total number of valid votes cast in that municipality, then the CEC is obliged to organise the second round between the two candidates who have won the most votes. But by law, the second round of mayoral elections is held on Sunday, four weeks after the first round. Therefore, it is important that the CEC focus on concluding the procedures related to the Municipal Speakers' Elections in order to announce and certified the final results, to know exactly what the municipalities in which the second round should be held and that by law this should take place four weeks after the first round“, he said.

CEC spokesman Valmir Elezi said that in addition to accepting the election material, the Counting and Results Centre is currently becoming the introduction of data into the system by these locations.

According to the Central Election Commission in the 17 October local elections, 42.% of citizens have voted. While, according to the CEC's preliminary results, 21 municipalities will go to the runoff.