The Central Election Commission (CEC) made a decision today to destroy the election material from the elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, which were held on February 9, 2025, including ballots, voter lists, result forms of parties and candidates. Meanwhile, materials that are part of investigations by law enforcement agencies will be kept until the completion of the relevant procedures, as reported by KosovaPress.

At the meeting, the CEC approved the recommendation that in the next local elections, persons who turn 18 on the day of voting be included in the voter list.

From the Election Operations Council, Arianit Elshani said that the Law on General Elections requires the destruction of election material. He said they have requested that one sample of each material be preserved and archived.

“The next item is the recommendation for the destruction of election material from the parliamentary elections of the Republic of Kosovo held in February 2025. As we are obligated under the Law on General Elections. It concerns all the election material used in these elections to be destroyed. We have requested, as the Election Operations Council, that one sample of each material be preserved and archived… All those materials that are part of the investigations and the investigations being conducted by the Kosovo prosecutor’s office will not be destroyed, they will be preserved,” said Elshani.

Meanwhile, CEC member Alban Krasniqi said that the requests mentioned by the chairman must be included in documents and be part of the decision.

“The requests mentioned by the chairman and which I do not see included in the document at all. I request that the same be included and be part of the decision. Because that was the idea to know. Again, a note to the secretariat not to repeat this,” said Krasniqi.

Meanwhile, Arianit Elshani also spoke about some changes in the voter list for the local elections expected to be held in the fall of this year.

He emphasized that persons who turn 18 on the day of voting in the second round will be included in the list.

Elshani said that those who have renounced citizenship will be removed from the voter list.

“Recommendations have been given by the secretariat for changing the time limits for sending the invitation, but also for receiving the extract from the Civil Registry Agency (CRA) and the deadline for receiving the second extract of the voter list from the CRA which have been different practices from one election to another… For the second round of elections, clear procedures have been recommended on how the voter list for the second round is created. Persons who turn 18 on the day of the second round of elections are included in this list and must be approved by the CEC 7 days after the date of confirmation of the municipalities going to the second round. And the others who will be removed from the voter list are citizens who have renounced citizenship and those who have been found or reported by the competent authority as deceased who will not be on this list,” said Elshani.

Among other things, the CEC decided to supplement and amend two secondary legal acts, one of which concerns ballots and brochures.

Also, in this meeting, the CEC decided to organize a workshop in cooperation with the Venice Commission in the last week of June this year.

The chairman of the CEC, Kreshnik Radoniqi, announced that the cost of this project is about two thousand five hundred euros.

“The project budget cost will be 2,499 euros related to the workshop we will have together with the officials of the Venice Commission. This workshop was proposed by the Venice Commission itself and will be held on June 26,” said Radoniqi.

In the next item on the agenda, the CEC decided on the payment of about 130 people engaged as staff in Voting Centers at diplomatic missions and staff engaged in collecting postal deliveries in the elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, held on February 9, 2025