• CEC: Final results to be announced early next week (Zeri)
• Kurti: No constitutional obligation to have Serbian List in government (RTK)
• Vetevendosje complains to Supreme Court over Diaspora votes (Koha)
• Dehari family receives copy of forensic report into their son’s death (media)
• Vetevendosje wants Special Prosecution to investigate its activist’s death (media)
• Lumezi: We will seek U.S. assistance in investigating Astrit Dehari’s death (media)
• Kurti meets German chancellor’s adviser on foreign policy (media)
• Rama expected to meet Kurti today (Klan Kosova)
• Limaj: We expected to win at least eight seats (Telegrafi)
• GAP: If new government has 12 ministries, €15.5 million will be saved (media)
• Greminger: Resolution of Kosovo – Serbia issue, crucial for region (media)

CEC: Final results to be announced early next week (Zeri)

Officials from the Central Election Commission said they expect the final results of the 6 October elections to be announced by early next week. Yesterday, the CEC began counting of conditional ballots and of persons with special needs which is expected to take two days.

CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi said: “We hope to conclude the counting process as quickly as possible and I believe we will need at least two more days to manage to count all the votes.”

Kurti: No constitutional obligation to have Serbian List in government (RTK)

Vetevendosje Movement leader Albin Kurti said in an interview to RTK on Wednesday evening that it is not a constitutional obligation to include the Serbian List in the government but added that at least one minister will be from the Serb community. “We will meet this constitutional obligation, but the ruling coalition will not be dependent on conditions from any side,” he said. Asked to comment on talks with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) for a coalition government, Kurti said: “our working groups are harmonizing the program and joint government projects we will have and the division of responsibilities and functions in our joint government. The people have decided that what was yesterday’s opposition should be tomorrow’s government and at the same time gave an advantage to the Vetevendosje Movement for this government.”

Vetevendosje complains to Supreme Court over Diaspora votes (Koha)

Vetevendosje has addressed the Supreme Court following the decision of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) not to count 4,639 ballots it said arrived after the legally set deadline.

Vetevendosje’s representative at the Central Election Commission (CEC) Adnan Rrustemi said there was sufficient legal basis to count the ballots and recalled that under the same scenario in previous elections, the CEC had decided to count votes from Diaspora which although arrived late, were mailed within the deadline.

Dehari family receives copy of forensic report into their son’s death (media)

The family of Astrit Dehari, Vetevendosje activist who died at a detention facility in Prizren in 2016, has received copies of a 58-page forensic report carried out by a Swiss institute which has concluded that the suicide hypothesis is “unlikely” and that the “intervention of a third person in the fatal process should be considered”.

In the conclusions, the report states a new investigation is necessary to clarify the circumstances of Astrit Dehari’s death.

The Dehari family demanded the reopening of investigations into their son’s death. “As a parent I expect justice authorities to seek responsibility from all those involved in Astrit’s murder,” said Astrit’s father, Avni.

The family’s lawyer, Tome Gashi, said the report has concluded what they always maintained: that Astrit was killed. “We hope justice institutions, after receiving this report from Switzerland, will identify those that killed Astrit Dehari,” Gashi said.

At the same time, the Basic Prosecution in Prizren issued a statement saying it will continue investigations and undertake all necessary steps, including listening to experts from the forensic institute in Lausanne as well as Kosovo experts, and if necessary will commission a “super expertise” in cooperation and coordination with international partners to clarify circumstances that led to the death of Astrit Dehari.

Vetevendosje wants Special Prosecution to investigate its activist’s death (media)

Vetevendosje Movement has reacted to the conclusions of a report into the death of its activist, Astrit Dehari, prepared by a forensic institute in Lausanne and handed over to the Dehari family today. Vetevendosje said Dehari was killed whilst in detention centre because of his political activity.

“The prosecution is legally and humanely obliged to begin investigations into the case so that those responsible for this monstrous crime that deprived the 26-year-old activist Astrit Dehari of his life are brought to justice,” Vetevendosje said in a statement.

“In addition, those that regardless of the pain of the family, friends and the whole public opinion, became a tool of misinformation immediately after Astrit’s murder in prison should also be investigated. What was their goal to try with all means possible, including by lying and changing words, to cover the crime as if it was a suicide?”

Vetevendosje called for the launch of independent, fair and professional investigations as soon as possible. “Republic of Kosovo citizens, the whole society and Albanians wherever they are will not be at peace until justice for Astrit is served.”

In a press conference held yesterday, Vetevendosje officials Sami Kurteshi and Albulena Haxhiu demanded investigations into Astrit Dehari’s death not be carried out by the Basic Prosecution in Prizren but the Kosovo Special Prosecution.

“The prosecution in Prizren cannot deal with Astrit Dehari’s death, the same prosecution lost the credibility in delivering justice,” Haxhiu said.

Lumezi: We will seek U.S. assistance in investigating Astrit Dehari’s death (media)

Kosovo’s chief prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi told arbresh.info news portal that they will seek the support from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina in investigating the death of Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari while in a detention facility.

“We have requested the American Embassy to send a prosecutor or someone who can help us investigate this case so that we get to the bottom of it,” Lumezi said. He added that the prosecution’s branch in Prizren will be conducting the investigation but can also be assisted by international partners.

Kurti meets German chancellor’s adviser on foreign policy (media)

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti met in Berlin Jan Hecker, foreign policy adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and later on also visited the Foreign Minister and met Jens Uwe Ptotner, political director. Meanwhile, in a visit to Bundestag, Kurti met two MPs, Fritz Felgentreu and Nils Schmid.

“In all these meetings we discussed bilateral Kosovo-Germany relations as well as challenges of the future government in the field of justice, economy, European integration and dialogue with Serbia. Kosovo has in Germany a good partner for democratic state-building, rule of law and overall development,” Kurti said on Facebook.

Rama expected to meet Kurti today (Klan Kosova)

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama said he is set to meet Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti today.

In an interview for Klan TV, Rama was asked why he didn’t meet Kurti last week when he was in Tirana. “With regards to Albin Kurti, to my knowledge, I have a meeting tomorrow with him,” he said.

Rama also spoke about Kosovo’s outgoing prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, and said he plans to sue him for slander after Haradinaj publicly accused him of working for partition of Kosovo. “I will put him to court in Kosovo. He will speak before the court how ten billion euros were planned to be split between myself, Thaci and Vucic.”

Limaj: We expected to win at least eight seats (Telegrafi)

In an interview for RTV Dukagjini, Fatmir Limaj, leader of the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA) whose coalition with the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) based on current results has not managed to secure seats at the Assembly, said that they expected to win at least 8 mandates. “However, these elections had different specificities and the high turnout wrecked our calculations,” Limaj said.

Nevertheless, Limaj said that based on the information they have, their coalition has won enough votes to make it to the Assembly but expressed discontent with the result.

GAP: If new government has 12 ministries, €15.5 million will be saved (media)

Several media report that according to a study by Pristina-based GAP Institute, if the Vetevendosje Movement (VV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) keep their election promise for a government with 12 ministries, this would save €15.5 million from the state budget. “Based on their election promises, the number of deputy prime ministers will be reduced from five to two. Ministries will be reduced from 21 to 12, the number of deputy ministers and political advisors will also be reduced. VV and LDK have promised that they will appoint no more than two deputy ministers in every ministry, which means that from over 80 deputy ministers in the previous government there would be a total of 24 deputy ministers,” the study notes.

Greminger: Resolution of Kosovo – Serbia issue, crucial for region (media)

OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger said on Thursday that the resolution of the Kosovo – Serbia issue is crucial to security in the Western Balkans. “This would bring stability and well-being to the region,” Greminger said in an interview with Voice of America. He said that although the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade is facilitated by the European Union, the OSCE can contribute in a neutral way. “What we can do is support the dialogue and help the parties implement the measures they have agreed upon. We work in a status-neutral way, both in Kosovo and Serbia; we are accepted by all because we are impartial,” he added.