• COVID – 19: 294 new cases, nine deaths (media)
• Specialist Chambers summon Nezir Cocaj (media)
• AAK, NISMA fined for violating anti COVID measures in rallies (media)
• Muja: Association and division will end with Kurti in power (KTV)
• Shala: LDK competes to win the elections (media)
• Ahmeti calls for constitutional amendments (media)
• Prosecution rejects request for Veseli’s interim release (media)
• Blinken: I applaud Trump administration’s work for Kosovo and Serbia (media)

COVID – 19: 294 new cases, nine deaths (media)

294 new cases of COVID – 19 and nine deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 281 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. There are 5,279 active cases of COVID – 19 in Kosovo.

Specialist Chambers summon Nezir Cocaj (media)

All news websites reported on Tuesday evening that the Specialist Chambers in The Hague have summoned Nezir Cocaj, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, for interview in the coming days. Cocaj, a candidate for MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), confirmed that he has been summoned.

AAK, NISMA fined for violating anti COVID measures in rallies (media)

Most media reported on Tuesday that the inspectorate of Prishtina municipality has fined the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and NISMA with €2,000 each for violating anti COVID measures while organising rallies for the February parliamentary elections.

Muja: Association and division will end with Kurti in power (KTV)

Vetevendosje Movement (VV) member Armend Muja said in an interview with the TV station on Tuesday that if VV leader Albin Kurti is elected Prime Minister of Kosovo after the February parliamentary elections, topics like the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and Kosovo’s partition will come to an end.

“The first thing we must do on the dialogue with Serbia is to rethink the last 10 years. We need to take a step back. Has Kosovo dialogued since 2021 until now? What were the achievements? Second, this dialogue was based on the agenda of Vucic and Dacic. It focused on the Association and Kosovo’s division; an agenda requested by Serbia. We must shift away from this and dialogue must be held between two equal countries. Third, on economic relations – it was Chancellor Angela Merkel that recognised reciprocity as a principle. Kosovo was damaged economically in 4 – 5 areas. The Association, and division, will end with Albin Kurti. The whole process of dialogue must be based between two equal countries,” Muja said.

Shala: LDK competes to win the elections (media)

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader Kujtim Shala said in a debate on Tuesday that the LDK always competes to win the elections and that he is certain that the LDK will win more votes than predicted in different polls.

Shala also said that the LDK would not vote for any candidate for Kosovo President, be it Vjosa Osmani or Ramush Haradinaj, without a previous political agreement. “This is a matter of alliances. The LDK will not vote for any candidate if there is no previous alliance,” he added. “It is crucial for political parties to know that after these elections, a simple majority in parliament will not suffice to create the institutions and this will create room for alliances and political agreements.”

Ahmeti calls for constitutional amendments (media)

Prishtina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti called for constitutional amendments on Tuesday to clarify the process of forming the government and the election of the Assembly President, the 15 – day deadline for the certification of election results and the certification of MP candidates convicted by courts.

On the eve of new parliamentary elections, Ahmeti argued that whenever there are decisions by the Constitutional Court there is talk about flaws and gaps in the Constitution. He also criticised the decision of the Constitutional Court that the Assembly President post belongs to the winning party, also adding that confusion has been created with the latest decision that prevents people convicted in the last three years from running for MPs.

Prosecution rejects request for Veseli’s interim release (media)

Most news websites reported on Tuesday that the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has rejected a request for the interim release of former PDK leader and former Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, who is awaiting trial by the Specialist Chambers in the Hague. Several news websites highlight the prosecution’s remarks that “Veseli is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity across over 40 detention sites, including murder and torture” and that “the crimes charged against Veseli entail a potential sentence of life-long imprisonment”.

Blinken: I applaud Trump administration’s work for Kosovo and Serbia (media)

U.S. Secretary of State nominee Anthony Blinken spoke positively on Tuesday about the engagement of the Trump administration for relations between Kosovo and Serbia. During the confirmation session at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Senate, Blinken was asked by Senator Ron Johnson about the September 2020 agreement for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Johnson said that things were not improving until Richard Grenelle presented the idea for the normalisation of economic relations. In his remarks, Blinken said that he applauds a number of issues that the Trump administration did. “You also mentioned the work with Kosovo and Serbia. I applaud that. President-elect (Joe Biden) has spent a lot of time in these countries in the past and I think he shares the beliefs about the things we can do to help Kosovo to move forward and hopefully Serbia too,” Blinken said.