The Institute of Kosovo for Justice (IKD) has published a report on the cleanliness of political party lists, stating that the highest number of parliamentary candidates with legal issues belongs to the Vetëvendosje Movement.
The senior researcher at the Instituti i Kosovës për Drejtësi (IKD), Gëzim Shala, during the publication of the report “Integrity of Electoral Lists – Early Parliamentary Elections 7 June 2026,” said that the Vetëvendosje Movement leads with the highest number of candidates with legal issues in the early parliamentary elections on 7 June.
“Out of these 902 candidates, it turns out that 25 of them are involved in criminal cases. Expressed in percentage terms, this means 2.77 percent of the total candidate list are persons who have final convictions or active indictments. Fifteen of them have active indictments, while 13 others are persons who in the past had criminal convictions. There are also three candidates who, in addition to active indictments, also have criminal convictions. Regarding political entities, the highest number of candidates with legal issues belongs to the Vetëvendosje Movement, with a total of 13 candidates, which in relation to the total list of 902 candidates represents 1.44 percent. AAK and the Serb List each have three candidates with legal issues, KDTP has two candidates, while four other political entities each have one candidate with legal issues. Regarding the chapters of criminal offenses for which these candidates are convicted or accused, corruption offenses dominate,” he said.The researcher from the Instituti i Kosovës për Drejtësi (IKD), Shqiponjë Gashi Gashi, said that IKD has asked political parties not to include suspects in electoral lists.
“IKD considers that persons who are involved in criminal cases, even in cases where there are no legal restrictions, in order to build integrity and preserve the principles of good governance, should not be part of electoral lists, nor should they be candidates or list leaders,” Gashi said. They have also called on citizens not to vote for persons who have committed criminal offenses.
