The Board Commission approves the CEC's request for additional tools, required “mine” of Murati

The amount demanded by the CEC is over 1.5m euros and concerns the election process at municipal counting centres.

CEC Secretariat Chief Executive Chief Burim Ahmetaj explained in detail the request for additional budgets. He said the demand has to do with buying cameras at each location and buying hardware and software equipment for transparency.

“Within the transparency of the CEC has seen the purchase of surveillance cameras for each poll, which is about 2 thousand and 500 locations to buy from a camera, as well as other software devices that are in the service of transparency, and that's why there are about 1 million and a half euros that we have in our budget for 2024 and which we will develop during this year. Capitals and goods and services are divided, because some parts are software, some are equipment to be purchased, but there are still 500 thousand euros for the transparency process, there are also 750 thousand euros that will be bought hardware and software equipment for transparency, as well as one million euros for the purchase of cameras for each country, which in total exceed 1.5m euros for the transparency process in municipal counting centres for the entire country”, Ahmeti said.

CEC Chairman Kreshnik Radoniqi until reporting to the Commission for Business, Job and Transfere said the CEC's total budget for 2022 was 6m and 24 thousand and 134 euros, while stressing that 93.2 percent was spent from it.

“With the budget law for 2022 approved by the Kosovo Assembly, The CEC has been awarded a fund of over 5 million and 913 thousand, with the aim of functioning the institution and meeting legal obligations. Following the proclamation of extraordinary elections for mayor of four municipalities in the northern part of the country, as well as after the Government's decision, the CEC's overall budget for 2022 was 6m 24 thousand and 134 euros. Much of this budget, 4m and 200 thousand euros, belongs to the category of subsidies and transfers, the budget is generally spent 93.2 per cent, or in the amount of 5m and 617 thousand euros. Another report we submitted where we reflected the budget spending for 2022, this was with the annual report of the work of the CEC, which was submitted to the Kosovo Assembly last year”, Radoniqi said.

The deputy from Vetevendosje, Visar Korenica, has said it is disappointing that in the report the correct accounts were not presented properly, for which he has sought to eliminate these problems in the future.

The audit report we accepted is showing that it is not a good state to keep accounts in this institution. The report is qualified, which is most disappointing so as not to present an adequate calculation. I understand you have an opportunity to have a problem with stock registration, but that after problems with accurate accounts I don't see fit”, Korenica said.

While, for that, Radoniqi has said he has handled this issue, but it has to do with some fines that have been imposed on some political subjects that no longer exist and have no subjectivity, until he added there is no possibility CECS record these tools.

Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Mergim Lushtaku received criticism for the 2022 report, while he said we were in 2024.

We're handling a 2022 report, and we're in 2024, instead of thinking about reporting 2023, we're still dealing with reports of independent institutions, it's not just this commission. We have adopted a regulation in the Kosovo Assembly, and we are very proud that we have made a change, and we have brought a more excessive bureaucracy and a greater burden on the accountability of institutions and a delay, where any delay is in the possibility of improving the situation. It is good to make a request for this regulation to change in the sense that there will be no bureaucracy in the long-term adoption of regulation and accountability to be faster”, Lushtaku said.