New elections nearby, Osmani begins procedure for appointing the new CEC

According to these results, 6 members are expected to be appointed by the ranks of Albanian political subjects -- 2 by Vetevendosje, 2 by the PDK and by a member for the LDK and the AAK. Four other members will be named among the minority communities.

Currently, in the CEC, Vetevendosje and PDK are represented by two members, while the LDK and AAK are represented by one member. Of the communities, the Serbian List has a representative, meanwhile, Turks, Bosniaks and Roma, also from a member.

On 9 March 2026, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has submitted to political subjects the specific demands from which she has asked for written proposals of candidates for members of the CEC.

According to paragraph 6 of Article 61 of the General Election Law discussing the mandate and appointment of CEC members, political subjects must submit their proposals within the 7-day deadline. So this deadline will expire on March 15, 2026.

But according to the same law and the same paragraph, the presidential appointment takes place within 5 days of submitting proposals. So the deadline for their appointment is March 20, 2026.

New elections DnV with calls for appointment of new members

The new political situation in the country, created after the decision's failure to elect Kosovo's president by March 5th and the decree of current president, Vjosa Osmani, for the distribution of the Kosovo Assembly, is likely to lead the country to early elections for the Kosovo Assembly.

Under these circumstances, the network of organisations dealing with monitoring elections in Kosovo, Democracy in Action (DnV), on March 7th has called for President Osmani to initiate the procedure for the new composition of the CEC.

“at this moment, when the country is facing developments that are expected to lead to a new electoral process, and when March 11th as the legal deadline for this procedure is towards completion of the process of appointing the new CEC composition becomes even more important. This is especially because current legislation no longer envisions the automatic continuation of the mandate of the existing CEC composition until the appointment of the cloud in case of elections as regulated by the previous” law, DnV request said.

According to DnV, “any possible electoral process must find Kosovo with the electoral institutions consolidated, functional and with clear legal mandate, so that election management is not associated with the dilemma for its legitimacy”.

Speaking names for CEC members

So far, some of the political parties have submitted their proposals to the presidency.

The Democratic League of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo have submitted the names of current members Sami Hamiti and Muharrem Nitaj, Express reports.

It is agreed that Vetevendosje and PDK have not officially proposed their representatives for the CEC.

Currently, Vetevendosje is represented by Alban Krasniqi and Sami Kurteshi. The latter does not have the right to be renamed because under the election law “members of the CEC cannot serve more than 3 successive” mandates.

But The PDK is represented by Ilir Gashi and Arian Elshani. The latter, too, cannot be renamed due to the same legal restraint. /GazzetaExpress