Development and protection of civic interests: Manaj promises profound changes for Kosovo
Elections 2025
Read about: 6 min.
2 months ago
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Improving legislation and protecting the interests of citizens, creating laws that support the development and stability of the country, deep reforms in public administration and justice, are just some of the goals of the candidate for MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo, Shkëm Manaj.
Manaj is aiming for a seat in the Kosovo Assembly for the second time.
At the local level, he is committed to major projects, to develop mountain tourism in Istog and improve infrastructure, including cleaning the Istog River and protecting the environment as a whole.
In an interview with KosovaPress, Manaj also speaks about Albin Kurti's government, which he calls a failure in the country's economic development and in aspects of international relations.
He says that the LDK has drafted a detailed program with the help of experts and has engaged a strong team to lead the country if it scores a victory after the February 9 elections.
"LDK has managed to make major internal reforms over the years. We have had reforms in several aspects, both structural and programmatic. We have drafted a program that was drafted by 300 of the best experts in Kosovo. I was also part of the drafting of this program as the head of the justice department within LDK. LDK projects have been defined in each area of life, they are projects that will be implemented within the governing mandate. And this LDK program was made public a year ago," says Manaj.
"So, we are the only party in the country that has a detailed program and which we have made public to the citizens. There must be three main components, a leader who has a vision to lead the country, which in our case is the chairman of LDK and the future prime minister, Lumir Abdixhiku", a well-structured program and a team are needed, a list that is already public. The LDK list is a list that consists of personalities from all fields, it is the best list that a political party has ever had in our democracy after the war", adds Manaj.
Meanwhile, at the local level, Manaj pledges support for tourism development, as well as infrastructure projects in Istog, including river cleaning and environmental protection.
"I will serve the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, I will protect their interests through laws and many processes that take place in parliament and the future government. As one of the representatives of the LDK, considering that we come from the Istog branch, it is a branch that has a special history, because the historic president, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, was born here and has a great political legacy. And together with my colleagues from Istog, we have an obligation to first protect this political legacy and to push forward the Rugova project for Kosovo. Because only this project has been in function, Kosovo has been stable," says Manaj.
Manaj says they will take into account the development of mountain tourism.
"A tourist center in Moka, then many other projects related to public infrastructure, including wastewater treatment through the plant," Manaj says.
On the other hand, Manaj criticizes the current government for, as he says, failures in economic development and international relations, especially for the negative impact on relations with the US.
"This government has been weak both in terms of internal development and in terms of international relations. In terms of the country's development, they have failed in almost every sphere of life, because they have not managed to make progress in the country's economic development. Citizens have not managed to have a proper government that helps them in their well-being and that of their families and the state, while in terms of the international aspect, this government has not been correct in its relations with internationals. We think that it has damaged relations with the USA and with other friends of Kosovo, which is a big blow to the state of Kosovo, because damaging relations with the USA for us is a violation of the interest of the state of Kosovo, considering that all the achievements of our country cannot happen without the support of the USA", Manaj underlines.
He says that with LDK in power, the lives and well-being of all citizens of the country would improve.
"There are many priorities, but I think that the main focus should initially be on the legislation part, taking into account that I am a lawyer by profession, then protecting the interests of citizens, issuing as many projects as possible for Istog and other municipalities of the Dukagjin plain region that will directly affect the lives of citizens. I also have a special focus on the justice and public administration part. The promise of our incoming prime minister is that in the LDK government, the salary coefficient will be 150 euros for each public employee, which we think that this increase in salaries in the public sector, but then also the increase in salaries in the private sector will affect the well-being of every family in Kosovo. During this government, we have seen that public administration and justice institutions have been hit by the ruling party. We think that radical reforms should take place and all public employees should have the deserved place they deserve, because they are key people who serve citizens in the development of the country", says Manaj.
The campaign for the general elections in Kosovo began on January 11, while the elections will be held on February 9.
