Lawyers representing two of the suspects in an alleged vote-rigging case in the Municipality of Malisheva have provided details about the interrogation process at the Basic Prosecution Office in Gjakova. They said that the questioning of around 60 suspects has been completed and that they are now awaiting a decision on whether detention will be ordered.

The lawyer of one of the suspects, Ergjument Barballushi, said that based on his client’s statement, the vote-counting process was democratic, but that any changes could have been made by the chairperson of the polling station and later entered into the Central Election Commission (CEC) system.

According to him, there are no grounds for the suspect to be held for 48 hours by the prosecution.

“I represent a person from Malisheva. He was involved in the vote-counting process as a member of the commission. He says the procedure was very democratic and conducted at the proper level, as provided by the Criminal Procedure Code. He says his duty was only to read the ballots and determine who voted for whom. He states that the recording of those votes was done by the chairperson of the commission, and that he does not know what she included in the procedure and the entries she made. As for his role… the duty was to be overseen by the vote-counting observer and the data-entry observer regarding which numbers were obtained by whom. At the moment, there are no measures imposed and this is only the questioning phase, and we are awaiting the prosecutor’s decision on whether a 48-hour detention will be imposed or not. I do not believe there are grounds for such a measure,” he said.

Another lawyer, Egzon Doli, also said that his client served as a vote counter, but did not provide further details regarding the specific charges he is suspected of.

“The client served as a member of the commission. His statement relates to the function he had during the vote-counting process; however, we cannot provide more detailed information. Based on the information I have so far, he has completed the interview. If I am not mistaken, around sixty people,” he said.

The Basic Prosecution Office in Gjakova launched an operation on Wednesday regarding suspicions of falsification of election results in the Municipality of Malisheva, questioning dozens of election commissioners.

This was confirmed to KosovaPress by the prosecution’s spokesperson, Drin Domi.

He did not provide many details, saying that the operation is still in its early phase.

“It concerns an operation by the Basic Prosecution Office in Gjakova regarding the falsification of election results during the counting process within political entities, for parliamentary candidates in the Municipality of Malisheva,” he said briefly.

KosovaPress has learned that the prosecution will hold a press conference around 15:00.

In a separate prosecution operation over alleged vote manipulation by parliamentary candidates, 109 people were arrested in Prizren. Of them, 23 were placed in pre-trial detention.