• COVID – 19: 392 new cases, six new deaths (media)
• First-time voters hoping for a change (Prishtina Insight)
• Osmani says “integrity of Central Election Commission will be protected” (media)
• Three scenarios in final decision for candidates list (Koha)
• CEC: We’ll act based on decisions by ECAP and Supreme Court (Telegrafi)
• Mustafa: If we fail to elect president, we’ll go to new elections (media)
• Haradinaj: February 14 is a referendum for Kosovo in NATO (media)
• Another former KLA soldier summoned by Specialist Chambers (media)
• “Kosovo-Serbia dialogue needs compromise to move forward” (Balkan Insight)

COVID – 19: 392 new cases, six new deaths (media)

392 new cases of COVID – 19 and six deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 222 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 6,084 active cases of COVID – 19 in Kosovo.

First-time voters hoping for a change (Prishtina Insight)

Prishtina Insight spoke with a number of young people eligible to vote for the first time at the February 14 election, who outlined their political concerns and aspirations for the future governance of Kosovo.

Kosovo is often described as the youngest country in Europe and with good reason – a 2019 UNDP report stated that half of the population is under the age of 25.

Every year, tens of thousands of young people across Kosovo turn 18 and gain the right to vote, creating a powerful electoral constituency. Before Kosovo’s last parliamentary elections in October 2019, 115,000 first-time voters were added to the list of eligible voters.

The Central Election Commission told Prishtina Insight that this year’s list has not yet been certified, but that thousands of young people will be able to exercise their right to vote for the first time on February 14.

One first time voter will be Edmond Murtezi, a 19-year-old and second-year economics student from the town of Lipjan.

Murtezi is enthusiastic about the upcoming elections, and hopes that by participating he can help contribute to the country’s future. The University of Prishtina student believes that there is a growing political consciousness among young people in Kosovo, who he says feel a strong need for a change.

“Bad governance over the past 20 years has pushed many young people to leave Kosovo,” he tells Prishtina Insight. “Although we are gripped by the pandemic, I think that the next government needs to improve this situation.”

The World Bank has estimated that Kosovo’s economy is expected to contract by nearly nine percent due to the impact of the coronavirus and Murtezi believes that only good governance can reverse this and create economic growth.

Despite the dispiriting situation created by COVID-19, the young economist feels that there are still reasons to be optimistic, including the huge numbers of postal voters registering to vote on February 14.

“There is a positive mood that is felt everywhere you go, just look at the number of diaspora wanting to cast their vote – they also want a different Kosovo,” he says.

Another first time voter hoping for a change is Edona Elshani from Malisheva, who will graduate from high school this year. “I think we need to have changes, as change is always good for the country,” she tells Prishtina Insight.

For Elshani, economic development and creating employment opportunities for young people must be a priority for Kosovo’s next government. “My aim is to study and work at the same time,” she says. “I just hope my generation don’t have the same problems looking for a job after we graduate.”

Employment was a key issue for many first-time voters Prishtina Insight spoke to, and understandably so. According to a survey published by the Kosovo Statistics Agency, in the first three months of 2020, over 54 percent of people aged between 15-24 had not been working for the previous 12 months.

Meanwhile, the number of graduates entering the job market is also growing, with 7,350 students graduating in 2019 alone.

Sherif Ferizi, a biology student from the town of Skenderaj in central Kosovo is another young person who fears that opportunities for employment may be an issue following graduation.

“There is not much space for employment for biologists in our country,” he says. “Laboratories and institutes are largely absent, and our only aim is to get a job in the education system as a biology teacher.”

Unlike Murtezi and Elshani who expressed excitement about being able to visit the ballot box on February 14, Ferizi is not convinced about whether he wants to vote or not.

“I don’t know, perhaps I will be persuaded by the campaign or the parties’ programmes, but for now I am undecided about whether I will vote at this election,” he says. “I’m thinking more about not voting.”

For Ferizi, improving conditions in the education system should be a priority for whoever will be at the wheel of Kosovo’s next government. “In the department where I study for example, there is a lack of laboratories and other equipment,” he says.

Another first time voter is Endrit Ndrecaj from Suhareka, who is in his first year of studies at the Physical Education and Sports Faculty at the University of Prishtina. He hopes that his vote will help improve his future prospects, and that the next Kosovo government will help provide opportunities for athletes.

Ndrecaj is a volleyball player, but sees few opportunities to make a living from his sport in Kosovo and will likely seek to pursue his career in western Europe. “Only for this reason would I leave Kosovo, not for anything else,” he says.

However, the 18-year-old doesn’t hold out much hope that things will change, even with a change of government. “I am not sure that the situation in sport will change, as it seems that sport is not important for politicians,” he says.

Osmani says “integrity of Central Election Commission will be protected” (media)

Kosovo’s Acting President Vjosa Osmani said on Saturday that the Central Election Commission (CEC) must protect its integrity and added that the decisions made in this institution on Friday were unprecedented, indecent and unacceptable.

Osmani said that in Friday’s meeting there was pressure against the Office for the Registration and Certification of Political Parties and the leaders of the office. “What happened yesterday hurt the election process and the integrity of the CEC. We have to save the process. We must under no circumstance allow to fall for the traps that are being built to prevent and prolong the process,” Daka said.

Daka said she would not allow these situations to happen again in the CEC. “If we are faced again with situations like the one on Friday, where there are abuses against the CEC as an independent institutions to push forward party agendas and as a forum where pressure is exerted on civil servants, I will be forced to undertake all measures to protect the integrity of the CEC and the election process as foreseen by the law on elections and as obliged by the Constitution of our country,” she said.

Three scenarios in final decision for candidates list (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page this morning that by the end of this week there will be an epilogue to the certification of the list of candidates for MPs. The paper notes that in this critical week there could be three scenarios, one of which does not rule out the possibility of boycotting elections by those parties that won’t be satisfied with the decision-making process. According to the first scenario, the political parties which have filed complaints with the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel would respect a final decision by this body, which could include: completely approving the complaints, partially approving the complaints and deciding to certify the lists without the candidates that were sentenced in the last three years, or reject the complaints. The second scenario would imply that the parties would respect a decision by the Supreme Court of Kosovo, which is final and implemented by the Central Election Commission without the right to intervene. And the third scenario could imply the parties, which are not satisfied with the decision-making process, would boycott the elections.

CEC: We’ll act based on decisions by ECAP and Supreme Court (Telegrafi)

Valmir Elezi, a spokesman for the Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC), told the news website on Sunday that the CEC is waiting for the review and decision by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) on the complaints filed by the political parties about the list of MP candidates. “The CEC will act in accordance with the decisions of the ECAP and the Supreme Court,” he said.

Mustafa: If we fail to elect president, we’ll go to new elections (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) leader Isa Mustafa said in an interview with RTK on Sunday that if parties fail to elect a new President after the February parliamentary elections, Kosovo will go to elections again.

“The formation of new institutions is more complicated this time because they cannot be formed with 61 votes, but with 80 votes for the election of a new president. It is a complicated matter who can make 80 votes. The moment we fail to elect a new president, we will go to elections,” Mustafa said.

Haradinaj: February 14 is a referendum for Kosovo in NATO (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader and candidate for Kosovo President, Ramush Haradinaj, said during a visit to Peja on Sunday that Kosovo needs internal unity in its path toward NATO membership. “February 14 is a referendum for Kosovo in NATO. My combatants and I were ready when our country had to be liberated, and we are ready to defend it too. But Kosovo’s best defense is membership in NATO. And if this is not achieved in the coming years, we will follow the path of organising a referendum for unification with Albania, to secure ourselves and peace in the region,” Haradinaj said.

Another former KLA soldier summoned by Specialist Chambers (media)

Most news websites reported on Sunday that Sadete Doda – Shota, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, has been summoned by the Specialist Chambers. Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) MP Ganimete Musliu confirmed the information in a Facebook post.

“Kosovo-Serbia dialogue needs compromise to move forward” (Balkan Insight)

With the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue currently at a standstill, a new report by the International Crisis Group, ICG, proposes three possible options for ending a logjam that is holding both sides back from EU membership.

All parties involved in the stalemated Kosovo-Serbia dialogue should seek an agreement on mutual recognition and the two countries should acknowledge the need for compromise, a new report by the International Crisis Group, ICG, think tank says.

The report, released on Monday, warns that as long as the two sides cannot find an agreement to resolve their long dispute, “both parties will be barred from the EU, and Kosovo from the UN and NATO as well”.

The report proposes three options on how to deal with the Kosovo-Serbia stalemate.

In the first, ICG suggests a combination of pressure, including billions in development assistance and investment for Serbia coupled with an assurance of rapid EU membership, could move Serbia toward recognising its former province without extracting significant concessions from Pristina.

Since Kosovo declared independence unilaterally in February 2008, Serbia has bitterly opposed it, and has invested great efforts in convincing countries to rescind recognition, while campaigning vigorously against Kosovo’s membership of international organisations.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “has said an arrangement that involves a form of de facto recognition would be ‘much easier for Serbia’ than de jure recognition,” the ICG notes, referencing the 1972 German Basic Treaty, under which former East and West Germany established diplomatic ties without formally recognising each other.

As a second compromise, the ICG suggests an option that would address minorities’ grievances “by granting them self-government in autonomous territories”.

While recalling that Kosovo leaders already agreed to grant the Serbian minority democratically elected institutions during the failed 1999 Rambouillet talks, the ICG recommends enhanced autonomy both for Serbs in Kosovo and ethnic Albanians living in southern Serbia. “It could still work if Belgrade and Pristina embrace it,” the report maintains.

In its third option, the ICG revives the idea of border modifications between two countries, which since it was first floated in 2018 has alarmed many in Pristina, Belgrade and the international community.

“Despite strong opposition from within the EU, proponents have for years argued that a territorial exchange could be the key to unlocking the Kosovo-Serbia dispute,” the report says.

“Serbia privately floated a similar idea in 2010, and as noted [then Kosovo president Hashim] Thaçi and Vucic revisited it in 2018,” it added.

Either way, the ICG says that leaders of both sides “need to be clearer with their constituents” as the search for a final agreement has long been “hampered by pervasive misinformation for which Belgrade and Pristina are largely to blame”.

The EU-supported dialogue with Serbia has often caused crises and controversies within Kosovo, while the ICG says that currently in Kosovo neither the governing coalition nor the opposition is ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue and suggests preliminary internal negotiations within the Pristina elite.

“Through these negotiations, the governing coalition will need to settle on a common platform that sets out its goals, red lines and potential concessions,” the report advises.