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Another leader in Malisheva detained on suspicion of vote manipulation

2026-02-02 17:06:58, Kosova & Bota CNA

A leader in Malisheva was interviewed on February 2 and detained for 48 hours, under suspicion of falsifying votes for parliamentary candidates in the December 28, 2025 elections.

The Basic Prosecution Office in Gjakova said that his detention is part of the action taken on January 28, when 15 leaders and 43 commissioners were interviewed. On that day, 15 leaders were taken into custody, who were then sentenced to one month in pre-trial detention.

The Chief Prosecutor in Gjakova, Enis Gashi, stated on January 28 that the targets of the investigation are 18 chairmen and 50 election commissioners. Authorities had warned that other people who were not interviewed that day would be interviewed in the coming days.

"There are 75 polling stations in Malisheva, 9,057 votes have been added, 7,996 have been removed. So, in total we have 17,053 votes," said Chief Prosecutor Gashi after the action at the end of January.

Some state officials have described the December elections as one of the most “compromised” processes, after major discrepancies were noted in the votes of candidates for deputies after a partial recount ordered by the Central Election Commission. This prompted the commission to order a full recount of regular votes, although it said that party votes were not compromised.

The recount was completed last weekend and the CEC announced the final results.

Dozens of people have been detained and hundreds more have been interviewed in many regions of Kosovo due to suspicions of vote rigging. Also on February 2, authorities launched investigations in Podujeva, following suspicions of vote rigging by parliamentary candidates.

The national coordinator for elections in Kosovo, state prosecutor Laura Pula, has warned that even candidates for deputies who had their votes added will be subject to investigations, although so far it has not been announced whether any of them have been invited for an interview at the prosecutor's office.

The Vetëvendosje Movement is the winner of the early parliamentary elections, receiving 51.10 percent of the vote and will have 57 deputies in the new Kosovo Assembly.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo won 20.19 percent of the votes, or 22 deputies, the Democratic League of Kosovo won 13.24 percent and will have 15 deputies, while the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo won 5.50 percent of the votes, or six deputies.

Of the seats reserved for the Serb minority, nine seats were won by the Serbian List and one seat by the Party for Freedom, Justice and Survival.

After the announcement of the final result, seven complaints were sent to the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel. It is expected that this panel, and then the Supreme Court – if someone sends the ECAP decision to this institution – will review the complaints of candidates or parties in order to pave the way for the certification of the results.

And only after certification, the formation of new institutions is enabled.

The acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, with his party, the Vetevendosje Movement, is expected to form the new government without any problems.

However, he himself has admitted that a new relationship will need to be created between the government and the opposition on other major issues, such as the position of the president or the approval of international agreements.

For both processes, two-thirds of the votes must be secured./REL