Political entities in Kosovo have now officially entered the campaign for the general elections to be held on February 9, this time with some changes. The possibility for citizens to vote for up to ten candidates for deputies - up from five as before - is being considered the main change for these elections. And this, according to monitors, could also encourage a tougher competition within the political entities themselves.

The new Election Law, adopted in 2023, also enabled diaspora voting in embassies and consulates, the removal of the 24-hour electoral silence, and the counting of ballots for political entities in polling centers.

These changes are being considered positive by experts in electoral processes and, according to them, there is no expectation that, as a result, there will be an increase in invalid votes.

Researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Eugen Cakolli, who monitors electoral processes, tells KosovaPress that the essential change in the February 9 elections will be the increase in the preferential vote from five candidates to ten.

"The most essential change in relation to the way the electoral process is conducted in Kosovo is the increase in the preferential vote from five to ten candidates. This will normally have the impact of also tightening the competition within the political entities themselves, knowing that the competition is now more open to all candidates. Another change is the method of voting abroad, which has already begun, and a relatively high interest is observed among voters living abroad," he says.

The legal changes for the organization of parliamentary elections are also considered good by former CEC chairman and university professor Mazllum Bar.aliu.

According to him, this will ensure more proper election administration.

"With these changes to the law, votes will not be collected throughout Kosovo at the Counting and Results Center, but will be counted in the municipal election commissions... They are counted only for political entities, this allows for the preliminary results to be given as early as possible, while in the following days the ballots for candidates will be counted at the CNR", emphasizes Bar.aliu.

The possibility of an increase in invalid votes as a result of these changes is very small, according to KDI researcher Eugen Cakolli.

In the past, citizens had the opportunity to vote for a political entity as well as five candidates for deputies, while with the new Election Law they will vote for ten candidates for deputies.

Also, unlike past elections, when the electoral silence began the day before the voting, with the legal changes it will now begin at 07:00 on voting day and will last until their closure, at 19:00 on February 9. Consequently, the electoral silence will only last during the 12 hours of voting.

The election campaign in Kosovo began on January 11, with the elections to be held on February 9. These are the first regular elections to be held since the declaration of independence in 2008.

28 political entities with 1.280 candidates have been certified for these elections.

Full news on the prepaid system...