Integrity of candidates, rule of law and good governance
Prishtina, February 6, 2025 – The Kosovo Institute for Law (IKD), the FOL Movement and the Initiative for Progress (INPO), with the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, through a press conference published the report “Candidate Integrity, Rule of Law and Good Governance”. This report presents an analysis of candidate lists and political programs for the general elections of February 9, 2025.
The presentation of this report was made by researchers Gzim Shala (IKD), Burbuqe Kastrati (FOL) and Arbër Kadriu (INPO), who presented the main findings of the analysis. The report addresses the main issues related to certified candidates for elections who have problems with the law, as well as a qualitative assessment of the political programs of certified entities, with a focus on the rule of law, good governance and human rights.
Regarding the lists of candidates who have problems with the law, in terms of active indictments and convictions, three political entities: 1) Vetëvendosje Movement; 2) AAK-Nisma coalition; and 3) Democratic League of Kosovo, have included in their lists a total of 23 candidates who have problems with the law, which constitute about 7% of their total candidates. Vetëvendosje Movement has the largest number with 14 candidates (12.72% of the list), while AAK-Nisma coalition has included eight candidates (7.27%), and LDK one candidate.
Of the 23 candidates for deputies with legal problems, 16 of them face active indictments, while eight have final convictions. In total, 20 indictments have been filed against these candidates for 21 criminal offenses, which include criminal offenses of corruption such as “abuse of official position or authority”, as well as other criminal offenses, such as the use of a weapon or dangerous instrument (nine cases), unauthorized possession of weapons (five cases), obstruction or assault of official persons and other criminal offenses.
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that the political parties’ programs on justice in the 2025 elections differ significantly in both their approach and level of seriousness.
The Vetëvendosje Movement addresses justice only on one page of its program and does not refer to the Rule of Law Strategy at all. It proposes the creation of a Family Court, a Specialized Prosecutor’s Office and an Office for Disciplinary Investigations, but without any in-depth analysis of their need and functionality. The lack of a detailed plan and the duplication of existing mechanisms make this program considered frivolous.
The report further states that the Democratic League of Kosovo addresses justice more broadly, including vetting, the integrity of the justice system, the restoration of the independence of the Free Legal Aid Agency, and the digitalization of services. However, its program is not based on detailed analysis and does not refer to the Rule of Law Strategy. Also, some proposals, such as strengthening the criteria for the bar exam and the selection of judges, remain unclear and without sufficient argumentation.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Kosovo has included 14 points in its chapter on justice, emphasizing anti-corruption strategies and judicial system reform. This program does not mention the Rule of Law Strategy at all either. The program in question proposes the creation of a National Bureau of Investigation, but this institution represents a duplication of the competencies of the Special Prosecution and may create excessive oversight over the judicial system. The program also foresees the adoption of a National Strategy for War Crimes and the creation of a Labor Court, but without a clear argument for the need for such an institution.
Meanwhile, the AAK-Nisma coalition sets the rule of law as a top priority, but does not offer concrete proposals for its implementation. The program of the Coalition for the Family contains 15 points on justice, but without elaboration on their implementation, while some other parties, such as the New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo and the Fjala Party, address the rule of law in a very general manner and without concrete measures.
This report also addresses other issues from the electoral programs of the main parties for the 2025 elections. The report notes that these programs also address issues such as transparency, good governance, public administration, gender equality and human rights, but most of them do not provide clear details on the implementation mechanisms and financial sources of the proposed reforms. PDK and LDK emphasize transparency and digitalization, but do not provide clarification on how these reforms will be implemented. AAK promises economic development and salary increases in public administration, but without a clear plan for budgetary support. The Coalition for the Family and smaller parties, such as the Egyptian Liberal Party and PDAK-LPB, mention the topics of the rule of law and equality, but their programs remain general and without a specific strategy well-defined for implementation.
The report highlights that the Vetëvendosje Movement focuses mainly on infrastructure projects, while not including key topics such as public administration, transparency and accountability in its program. Reforming the administration system, which has been one of the most debated issues during the last mandate, is not addressed in its electoral program, while the non-implementation of the Judgment on the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector is not mentioned anywhere.
The full report can be found here
According to this report, in general, most electoral programs do not provide concrete measures to ensure a depoliticized and efficient public administration. Gender equality and human rights are mentioned in general terms, but without clear measures to address them in practice. Also, while some programs talk about the fight against corruption and the strengthening of independent institutions, details on concrete mechanisms to ensure accountability and clean governance are lacking. Thus, the report states that most electoral promises remain general and without a well-defined strategy for effective implementation.