UNMIK Media Observer, Morning Edition, February 4, 2026

ECAP approves Serbian List's appeal, rejects six others (media)
SL: ECAP decision a victory for rule of law and confirmation of voters’ will (Kosovo Online)
Kosovo Serb party wins appeal over election results (Prishtina Insight)
Osmani: Women in peace bring faster results (media)
Osmani meets presidents of Switzerland and Sierra Leone at WGS (media)
Kurti remembers “ethnic cleansing” in February 2000 in Mitrovica North (media)
Kosovo court sentences ex-reservist for war crimes against villagers (BIRN)
Mitrovica students rally against Kosovo integration plans: “Silence Is Not Golden” (Kossev)
Two former EU envoys for dialogue involved in “international scandals” (Telegrafi)
Kosovo symbolic investments attempt to revive Brezovica ski resort (Prishtina Insight)

ECAP approves Serbian List's appeal, rejects six others (media)

All news websites reported on Tuesday that the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) approved the appeal of the Serbian List against the decision of the Central Election Commission for not announcing the final election results for this political entity and its candidates. The ECAP has said that the appeal of the Serbian List is well- founded. “The panel, after reviewing the case files and the CEC's reasoning contained in the appealed decision of 31.01.2026, with protocol number No. 01/156/2026, assesses that such a position cannot be accepted as fair and legal, as it is contrary to the legal provisions of the Law on General Elections, Article 101 paragraph 16, Article 106 paragraph 3, Article 111 of Law No. 08/L-228 on General Elections in the Republic of Kosovo, as well as Article 9 paragraph 2 of the Electoral Regulation No. 13/2024 Election Results,” the decision notes.

ECAP said that the CEC’s decision was unjustified and in complete contradiction with the above-mentioned legal provisions, "this is due to the fact that considering that all counting and recount procedures have been completed for all 3 political entities, the final result should be announced immediately and include all electoral entities without exception".

According to the ECAP, any partial announcement of the final result, in such circumstances, has no legal basis and contradicts the principles of equality of electoral subjects, legal certainty and transparency of the electoral process. "Therefore, this decision is contrary to good electoral practices and also contrary to the standards of the Venice Commission," the decision states.

SL: ECAP decision a victory for rule of law and confirmation of voters’ will (Kosovo Online)

The Serbian List announced that the decision of the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) to uphold its appeal against the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) represents a victory for the rule of law, legality, and democratic principles, as well as a confirmation of the electoral will of the citizens who supported the party.

As stated by the Serbian List, ECAP annulled the unlawful and anti-Serb decision of the CEC, confirmed the legal validity of the appeal, and proclaimed the final election results of the Serbian List, as well as those of its elected MPs.

“This decision represents a victory for the rule of law, legality, and democratic principles, as well as a confirmation of the electoral will of the citizens who supported the Serb List. We expect all competent institutions to act in accordance with the adopted decision and to enable its full and unhindered implementation, and we will continue our struggle for the rights of the Serbian people and for respect for their electoral will,” the statement by the Serbian List concludes.

Earlier today, the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel upheld the Serb List’s appeal against the decision of the Central Election Commission not to publish the final election results for this political entity and its candidates.

The Panel ordered the CEC to publish the final results for this political entity and its candidates in the snap elections for the Assembly of Kosovo held on 28 December 2025.

Kosovo Serb party wins appeal over election results (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo’s election complaints panel called the Central Election Commission’s decision not to authorise the general election results achieved by the Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista party ‘unjustified’.

Kosovo’s Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, ECAP on Tuesday overturned the Central Election Commission’s decision not to authorise the results achieved by the Srpska Lista party and its candidates in the December 28 general elections.

“The ECAP does not agree with the CEC’s decision to not announce the final results of parliamentary elections for Srpska Lista and its candidates. The ECAP assesses that this decision is unjustified and in contradiction with legal provisions,” it said in its ruling.

The CEC had announced the results for all the other candidates and parties apart from Srpska Lista – the Serb party backed by the authorities in Belgrade.

“Any partial announcement of final results has no legal grounding,” the ECAP said.

This is the fourth time Srpska Lista has had to challenge the CEC’s decisions against it.

In three previous cases, the party needed to file complaints after the CEC initially voted against its certification for participation in local and parliamentary elections.

Read more at: http://tiny.cc/shxx001

Osmani: Women in peace bring faster results (media)

Most news websites cover an interview that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani gave to India Today, highlighting her remark that “statistics show that the more women are involved in peace, peace comes faster and it lasts longer”.

Osmani said that Kosovo has paid a lot of focus on the Women, Peace and Security agenda, “because we believe that the more we include women in the peace dialogue, at the table where peace is decided, the faster it comes”.

“We have also decided to join the Board of Peace which is led by the President of the United States of America, because only about 26 years ago, we were on the receiving end of support from the international community, when it comes to peacemaking and peacekeeping, so many experts and so many peacekeepers from around the world have contributed to achieving the peace that we enjoy today. I oftentimes mention that our kids, our children, are the very first generation in the existence of our nation that have not known war and have only lived in peace. And that is a miracle, that is the most noble mission that one can engage in. So engaging in peace I think can be multifaceted,” Osmani said.

Watch full interview at: http://tiny.cc/bqiy001

Osmani meets presidents of Switzerland and Sierra Leone at WGS (media)

Most news websites reported on Tuesday that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani met with the President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, at the World Governments Summit. “Following our discussions in Davos, we continued the conversation on concrete steps to deepen cooperation between our two countries, with our diaspora serving as a vital bridge in this partnership. Kosovo remains deeply grateful for Switzerland’s steadfast support throughout the years,” she said.

Osmani also met with the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, “to discuss deepening cooperation between our two countries, for the benefit of our citizens and to address shared challenges. Kosovo remains committed to building strong partnerships with countries around the world”.

Kurti remembers “ethnic cleansing” in February 2000 in Mitrovica North (media)

Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti took to Facebook on Tuesday to remember the killing of 10 Albanians and the wounding of 25 others by Serbian police and the Bridge Watchers in Mitrovica North on the night between 3 and 4 February 2000. He said that under the threat of weapons and death, thousands of Albanians were violently expelled from their homes. “It will still take time for justice for this case to be fully established. As it will take time, a lot of state care, and interpersonal solidarity, for the victims of this ethnic cleansing to rehabilitate from the damage and loss suffered 26 years ago and the consequences since then to the present day,” Kurti said.

Kosovo court sentences ex-reservist for war crimes against villagers (BIRN)

The Pristina Basic Court on Tuesday sentenced Srdjan Lazovic, a former reservist member of the Yugoslav Army, to 12 years and six months in prison for war crimes against civilians in Panorc, a village in Kosovo’s central municipality of Malisheve/Malisevo, during the 1998-99 war.

He will also have to pay court expenses of 200 euros and another 100 euros into a victims’ fund.

Lazovic has been in detention since June 2024, time which will be deducted from his sentence. He pleaded not guilty and the first-instance verdict can be appealed.

The court confirmed the indictment, which said that Lazovic, in collaboration with other members of Serbia’s police and military, on September 3-5, 1999 violated international law by illegally arresting and physically and psychologically torturing around 500 people who were not involved in the war, of mass deportation of Albanians, and of destruction of property and looting.

The indictment said that residents of villages in Malisheve/Malisevo and Kline/Klina who were ordered to leave their homes were heading toward Panorc when they reached a police checkpoint and were stopped. The men were then separated from the women and children and sent to a school.

At the school, the men were tortured and beaten by Serbian forces, according to the indictment. They were kept in the school, where Lazovic as a reservist was also present, for more than 30 hours illegally without food, water, or other needs.

“Initially they separated the men and women, with the latter ordered to leave, while around 500 men were arrested and headed toward the village school, where they were subjected to beating and torture,” it read.

The indictment said a compact disc with a video recording from the scene showed “Srdjan Lazovic together with two uniformed members of Serbian police forces … directing AK-47s at Albanian civilian men who were kneeling with their hands behind their heads”.

Read more at: http://tiny.cc/boiy001

Two former EU envoys for dialogue involved in “international scandals” (Telegrafi)

Two former envoys of the European Union in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Federica Mogherini and Miroslav Lajcak, are involved in two separate scandals that have attracted the focus of international media.

Mogherini, former EU High Representative from 2014 to 2019, was arrested in December last year during a police raid as part of investigations for a suspected fraud scheme related to the training of European diplomats.

Lajcak concluded his four-year mandate as special envoy for the dialogue in August 2025. He was then appointed national security advisor to the Prime Minister of Slovakia but was forced to resign after US released documents revealed that he had exchanged messages about girls and diplomacy with Jeffrey Epstein. Lajcak publicly accepted that the messages showed a poor judgment and inappropriate communication.

The European Union reacted to Lajcak’s involvement in the Epstein scandal saying that it does not compromise the process of normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. “Concerning the dialogue as a process, it remains unaffected by these developments. The dialogue is a sustainable process since 2011, it is in the ownership of the parties and is led by the High Representative. Dialogue is also continuously supervised by the member states,” a spokesperson for the EU said on Tuesday.

Kosovo symbolic investments attempt to revive Brezovica ski resort (Prishtina Insight)

Despite some new investments in the Brezovica ski centre, skiers say the improvements remain largely invisible, as poorly maintained assets and illegal construction continue to overshadow Kosovo’s largest winter resort.

Dragan Maksimovic has seen everything unfold at the hotel where he spent four decades of his life—witnessing its construction, growth and prime, and then its decline following the war.

Hotel Narcis—built in 1984 in a distinctive brutalist style—is an asset of the Inex social enterprise under the Kosovo Privatisation Agency. It was once the largest hotel at Brezovica with 147 rooms, but today it resembles a ghost facility frozen in time.

“Until 1998, it was always full,” Maksimovic stated. “The elite used to come here, including sport teams. Problems started appearing in the early 2000s,” he added while recalling a completely different reputation of the hotel.

Narcis is one of five hotels under the administration of the Kosovo Privatisation Agency, KPA. It was in use up until 1998 and was to house members of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, after the war in 1999. Since then, no investments have been made into the hotel.

“Aside from a few offices and a wedding hall, the hotel is not in use and we can not restore its operation because it was heavily damaged,” stated Kreshnik Mehaj, a coordinator at the KPA. “There have been no investments for nearly 30 years,” he further noted.

Today, inside the hotel, there are still logos of the different sports teams that used to stay there.