IKD: KPM penalties on media for election campaigns are illegal

“These decisions are all illegal”, senior researcher said IKD's Gzim Shala during the conference at which the report “was released when the regulator violates the rules: The illegality of KPM fines against media violations”.

According to the IKD, regulation KPM-2024/03, which regulates media reporting during election campaigns, envisions specific deadlines and accelerated procedures for handling violations. These deadlines, according to the IKD, are set to provide immediate response during the election process, when violations can really affect the outcome of the elections.

The IKD emphasises that it was directly involved in drafting this regulation and that the procedural deadlines are not orientation, but binding.

Tute, in their report, The IKD stresses that from January 21st 2025 to May 5th 2026, KPM has been dysfunctional due to lack of quorum, as the Parliament had not long appointed the institution's new composition. During this period, several election processes have been held in Kosovo, according to the IKD, KPM has failed to make decisions on reported complaints and violations.

“KPM, from January 21st 2025 to May 5, 2026, when after naming the new composition, elected the chairman and vice-president, due to the lack of quorum, has been dysfunctional. In this period of time, several election processes have been developed in Kosovo. However, the Assembly has not long functional the composition of the KPM. As a result, the body that has had to react during the election campaign has not been able to make decisions within the terms defined with the same regulation”, the IKD report said.

In the report, The IKD says that after the new arrangement, at the meeting held on May 5, 2026, the KPM began examining cases collected in the 2025 and 2026 elections.

The IKD says that at this meeting, the KKP pronounced dozens of sanctions, including fines worth a total of tens of thousands of euros and medical remarks.

The “So, KPM after the construction, has returned to cases dealing with past election processes, including the February 9th 2025 general elections, including the runoff and early elections of December 28th 2025. So, we're dealing with sanction decisions issued in 2026 for alleged violations committed during preliminary year election campaigns”, says the IKD report.

According to the IKD, decisions on alleged violations during the 2025 elections are illegal because they were taken long after the deadlines set by KPM-2024/03.

In concrete cases, these KPM sanctions for election campaigns are completely illegal for two fundamental reasons. The first, in terms of campaigns from the 2025 election processes, decisions are illegal because they are issued after passing specific deadlines set out with KPM-2024/03”, the IKD report says.

And so, The IKD argues that all sanctioning decisions, including those related to the 2026 elections, have been issued in a procedure where significant roles have been played by the KPM Executive Office, which they say has been run for years by an executive chief's commanding officer beyond legal terms.

“While all decisions involved in the alleged violations during last year's election processes campaigns and those of early parliamentary elections on June 7th 2026 are illegal, because they have been issued on the basis of a decision-making procedure in which the Executive Office has had the necessary role. While for years he has been led by the task leader of the chief executive, beyond the time terms allowed by law”, the IKD report says. /Betimy for Justice