VV) gave a creditless point to Enver Bujar, the British Embassy: Resolve Professionals

LVV deputies, part of the Commission for Security and Protection, have given Enver Bujar most points, as candidate for the Commissioner for Information and Privates. The same one has failed to pass when British experts helped the process. The British Embassy has given a comment about the Commissioner's selection process.

Enver Bujar, the candidate for the position of the Commissioner for Information and Privateness, received mostly points from other candidates -- the Commission, consisting of the deputies of the Vetevendosje Movement, the representative of the ethnic non-Serb minorities and the representative of the Serbian List.

Many organizations and members of civil society have conveyed the candidate selection for commissioners. They have found that Bujar has changed his background several times, and his years of schooling and employment are different from the biographies he has previously delivered to the Assembly.

Civil society organisations, in a issued response, have even said that Bujar has not been assessed with passing points by British experts, who helped the recruiting process.

In a response to Express, the British Embassy said it is important to appoint a trained professional to this position and meet the required criteria.

The commissioner's “position is of particular importance. It is important that prepared professionals be appointed to this position and that meet the required” criteria, the Embassy's response says.

Furthermore, from the embassy they are saying they have already withdrawn from the process of selecting this commissioner because they have not wanted to spend funds and resources to find a candidate that would be suitable for MPs.

The British Embassy has been involved in three preliminary recruiting processes for Commissioner. The first process we've been involved in in May 2019, has given no appointed candidates. The other two processes, in July 2019 and August 2020, have provided candidates who have fulfilled all the criteria, but there were not enough votes for appointment in the Assembly. After failing to appoint, the British Embassy has withdrawn from the fourth process, not wanting to spend funds and resources to find a candidate who would have to be suitable for deputies”, it is said among other things in response.

The criticism of the process has also been enjoyed by civil society. Mejide Demolli-Nimane, representative from the “Movement, speaks”, has told Express that this process has gone through with irregularities.

She said the highest-rated candidate did not perform better than the other two candidates.

“The selection process of the Commissioner for Information and Privateity has gone through with irregularities.

From direct monitoring of the interviews that we have done, we estimate that the highest-ranking candidate has not performed better than the other two candidates. Mr. Bujar has run all the past processes, but British experts who had helped the recruiting process in 2019 and 2020 had not assessed him with passing points and recommended him for the position of Commissioner for Information and Private”, she said.

Demolli on behalf of civil society organisations that have monitored the process has demanded that the same one not continue.

Looking at all irregularities during this process, we consider this process to have been untransparent in developing its activities and not professional in interviewing, for which it should not go further. Our recommendation is to repeat the contest by ensuring that transparency in assessment and professionalism are the values of the new” process, she has said among other things.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), Ehat Mittaraj, has told Express that the process of appointing the Commissioner for Information and Privateness has been conveyed with problems and civil society with distrust.

“The principles of good governance and rule of law require that any process of appointing people in high positions take on public confidence that the process has been transparent and that appointed persons have no problems in terms of personal and professional integrity. Unfortunately, this process has been followed with many problems and the strong civil society's lack of trust regarding the integrity of the entire” process, Miftaraj said.

Furthermore, the IKD director stressed that it is regrets, the approach of the new government to the mentality of past governments. He even said that any decisions concerning these processes that do not take the confidence of the public and civil society are considered a decision that serves certain groups.

The “in this direction is to regret, practice and approach the new government with the mentality of past governments. The same approach this government had with the adoption of proposals regarding the Commission for Jurisprudence Proving, proposing candidates opposed to the law. In this direction, any decisions concerning these processes that do not take the confidence of the public and civil society will be considered political decisions that serve specific groups, and by no means rule of law and good governance”, he said.

In addition to civil society, this competition has been opposed by the opposition. They expressed disappointment over their failure to include the commission to assess candidates. They even released the Commission meeting when it was voted to send the names of elected to the Kosovo Assembly.

The only solution is for the process to return to the starting point. We also have the appreciation of civil society, but we also have the process that was done earlier. A process that will manage all of our data, start with such arrogance”, Democratic Party deputy Elmi Recica has said.

Against the commission's election, there were also the Democratic League of Kosovo. LDK commission member Anton Quinn said it makes no sense to stay at the meetings when they have not participated in the applicant commission of candidates.

We have to deal with a matter from the beginning we have separate attitudes. As a result of this, we now have a lack of compliance with who should be declared. Mr. Dugolli must understand that I am not obliged to stay and listen to the report on the subject that I've been declared from the beginning is compromised”, Quinn said.

Meanwhile, Beke Berisha from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo has said the person whose position has given him the maximum points from the Commission is not right for this position. He even said he would not make it an institution keeper.

You have decided on your own and you have placed the winner for this very important agency. Enver Bujar voted at maximum point, the same person I personally swam with 1 and 2. I wish this man never made choices. I also know this Crennare, and I don't know the other guy. But that's what's coming, Enver Bujar, you vote at 10 and we all know him. And I also have a commitment. You talk to us about going deeper. I wish these people would never choose an institution ranger and let the Agency run anymore. This is about capture the state. I concluded this meeting today. I'm shutting down you continue to collect signatures”, he said.

Who is Enver Bujar who gave the VV to communities the most?

The Commission for Security and Protection has granted a total of 69 points to Enver Bujar, to be the Commissioner for Information and Private.

By monitoring civil society organisations, they have doubts that Bujar has forged CV.

“From the background analysis of all candidates we have noted that the biography handed over in this process by Mr. Brad is not the same as the biographies he has delivered in previous processes on several points. According to the biography delivered in 2019 in the Kosovo Assembly, Mr. Bujar had stated that he worked as the head of the unit for narcotics investigation in 2006-2019, in the biography handed over in 2020 he had claimed to have worked in that position in the 2009-2020 period, while in the biography handed out in 2021 he has declared working in that position in 2009-2019. Also, the record of biographies is disproportional in study dates. According to the biography handed over the first and second time, he has conducted the Faculty for Political Science and Public Administration at the “College. Fame” for two years (2010-2012) while according to the third-time record, he has performed the faculty for three years in another period of time (2007-2010). He has also changed the dates in which he conducted studies in the field of engineering, including the name of the educational institution. We express our concern that the recruiting panel has not verified this information”, declared by civil society.

Bujar was also disqualified in past contests, just by the commission consisting of the British.

How did the Commissioner's selection fail for three years?

The Kosovo Assembly has for the first time announced the competition for the selection of the Agency for Information and Privateship Commissioner by April 08th, 2019 and has lasted until April 23rd, 2019. The interviews are held on May 04th 2019, however, according to the Election Panel, none of the four candidates has managed to qualify for selection of the Kosovo Assembly's Information and Private Agency's position. As a result, the contest has been re-declared again with the aim of offering the possibility of participating other more qualified candidates, as well as of providing the second opportunity for candidates to apply this announcement.

The Kosovo Assembly has announced the second candidate selection competition for the commissioner by May 29th, 2019 and has lasted until June 12th, 2019.

According to a research done by the “Movement, TAVO”, the general number of candidates for the commissioner's position has been 20, meanwhile, after assessing the submitted documents and their biographies, 10 candidates have been selected on the narrow list to be interviewed on the part of the Kosovo Commission for Internal Affairs, Security and Security Force Supervisor. While only seven candidates have participated in the interview phase, while only one of all candidates has managed to display the qualities and knowledge needed to select as Kosovo's Parliament's Information and Private Agency Commissioner. This time the interview panel managed to send three names of candidates to the Assembly for the vote, who were: Crenare Sogojeva Dramaku, Agron Behram, and Enver Bujar. Meanwhile, on the basis of British experts' assessment, according to them, Crenare Sogojevo Dramaku is the candidate to be voted on by the Parliamentary deputies. Although declared for the second time, the Kosovo Assembly has again failed to make the selection of the Agency for Information and Privateship Commissioner, and then as a result of political crises in the country, due to the distribution of the Assembly, and the whole process has returned to zero.

The competition for the selection of the Agency for Information and Privates' Commissioner has been announced for the third time (after a year) by the Kosovo Assembly on May 26, 2020, and this competition has lasted until June 09th 2020. The overall number of candidates for the position of the commissioner who applied during this contest has already been 12 after assessing the submitted documents and their biographies, 6 candidates have been selected on the narrow list to be interviewed by the Commission for Security and Defence Affairs. The candidate interview process has lasted two days, while of the 5 candidates interviewed, the assessment commission had selected candidates: Bujar Sadiku, Crenare Sadiku é Sogojeva and Muharrem Mustafa as the potential candidate to be appointed head of the Agency for Information and Privateness. After the full selection process, the British Embassy's project has praised candidate Crenare Sogojevo Dermak with the highest score. But none of these candidates could get the necessary votes, so the selection of the Agency for Information and Private Commissioner failed for the third time.

In addition to the reactions of civil society organisations, there has been a reaction from the British Embassy, which had this time provided recommendations for selecting candidates. Consequently, the British Embassy has expressed disappointment at the failure of this process and has announced that British experts have withdrawn from the recruiting process for the position.

In the British Embassy's response, among other things, it said: “we have been following with disappointment the failure of the Republic of Kosovo Assembly to appoint the Agency for Information and Privateness Commissioner on August 14th. The transparent and merit process, supported by our recruiting project, had issued two suitable candidates. Not naming any of them calls into question the stated commitment of political parties to implement the Memorandum of Understanding with the British Embassy, but most importantly, sends a negative signal to independent professionals in Kosovo and their hopes of contributing to Kosovo institutions. Any public appointment would have to take into account only the interests of the country and its citizens, rather than the close party interest. The failure of the Parliament to appoint the Commissioner of the Agency for Information and Privateness will leave Kosovo citizens without adequate institutional protection of privacy and data. This will also lead to repetition of the recruiting process for the fourth time and will cause delay in EU funds for the Agency. The next process will not be supported by our recruiting project. We will not take down the money of British taxpayers in the repeated processes that were transparent and well-developed, and they drew candidates who met the terms for the appointment”.

Meanwhile, the Security Commission has voted two days ago that Enver Bujar, Crenare Sogojevo Dermaku and Edon Miftari will be sent to the plenary session of the Kosovo Assembly for voting for the position of the Commissioner for Information and Private.

The people who have voted to submit these names were VV members on the commission, Enver Dugolli, Arber Rexaj, Mefail Bajqinovci, Albanian Mehmet Selimi, Fatmir Humolli and community representative Erdjan Galushi.

The incumbent MPs mostly praised candidate Enver Bujar, with 69 points respectively, candidate Crenare Sogojevo Dermaku with 63 points and candidate Edon Miftari with 61.5 points.