Nine candidates for mayors turn out to have problems with law

The Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), with support from the US State Department, the Bureau for International Narcotics and Enforcement of Law (INL) and NED on Saturday, has published the report: “Integrity of Communists Speakers' Analysis candidates for Commission Speakers who have problems with the law”.

Kosovo's Institute for Justice (IKD) in each election process has published the names of candidates for MPs and for mayors, who, based on cases monitored by IKD, are identified as candidates who have problems with the law.

On 17 October 2021, local elections will be held in the Republic of Kosovo in a total of 36 municipalities. As for these elections, The IKD has analysed the names of all candidates for mayors of these municipalities and verified whether the same have problems with the law, in terms of active indictments and punitive sentences (in the last three (3) years and sentences older than three (3) years). In this analysis, no candidates who have had the indictment have been involved, but who have since been acquitted of court rulings.

As for the candidates who in the past three (3) have received firm form sentences based on the Constitutional Court's act in “Anyway, The IKD estimates that in addition to candidates who have firm form sentences, in terms of promoting good government practices, political parties should make sure that they clean up their lists even from candidates who have active charges.

IKD's findings show that even in these elections, political parties have not had the will to clear lists from mayoral candidates who have problems with the law. According to the IKD findings, from the major parties, the LDK was excluded in this case.

Of all the mayoral candidates of all municipalities, The IKD has identified a (1) candidate who in the past three years has firm - form sentences, a (1) candidate with a sentence older than three (3) years until eight (8) other candidates are facing active charges. According to political parties, The IKD has found that the political parties which have run mostly persons who have problems with the law are AAK and the PDK with three (3) candidates, followed by LVV with two (2) candidates and NISMA with one (1) candidate. The IKD has not identified any candidate from the LDK ranks who has problems with the law.

And so, The IKD has found that out of the 36 Kosovo municipalities, in eight (8) of them for mayors have run persons who have or have had problems with the law.