The vote verification and counting process in the Municipal Counting Center of Prizren has been boycotted due to serious technical problems, halting the post-election procedure in one of Kosovo’s largest municipalities.
Merita Shehu, head of the Municipal Counting Center, told KALLXO.com that the boycott occurred after staff faced ongoing computer and network malfunctions.
“We, the entire staff — supervisors, commissioners, and observers — walked out. Most of the computers weren’t working, and even those that did couldn’t connect to the network,” Shehu explained.
She added that only four or five ballot boxes had been counted before the process was suspended.
Persistent Technical Difficulties
According to Shehu, the technical issues began as early as election day, and the situation has not been resolved since.
“I’ve been here for three days and still don’t have an active user account, even though I’m the head of the center,” she said, noting that the Municipal Election Commission has already been informed.
Close Race Between Totaj and Abrashi
Shaqir Totaj (PDK) and Artan Abrashi (Vetëvendosje) are set to face each other in a runoff election on November 9, 2025, to determine the next Mayor of Prizren.
In the October 12 local elections, Totaj, the incumbent mayor, led with 41.99% (24,281 votes), followed by Abrashi with 29.80% (17,231 votes).
Other candidates received the following results:
- Driton Selmanaj (LDK) – 10.66% (6,162 votes)
- Zafir Berisha (BDP) – 4.94% (2,855 votes)
- Furkan Bytyçi (KDTP) – 3.78% (2,188 votes)
- Emilija Rexhepi (NDS) – 3.63% (2,102 votes)
- Besnik Krasniqi (AAK) – 3.45% (1,995 votes)
- Albulena Balaj Halimaj (Nisma) – 1.76% (1,018 votes)
A total of 57,830 citizens voted for mayor, representing 30.62% of registered voters.
In the Municipal Assembly elections, PDK led with 32.76% (17,976 votes), followed by Vetëvendosje with 20.69% (11,355 votes) and LDK with 14.02% (7,696 votes).
Other results include:
BDP (6.75%), AAK (5.16%), KDTP (4.36%), Koalicija Vakat (3.15%), NDS (2.95%), Nisma (2.79%), Guxo (2.58%), SDU (2.30%), YTHP (1.47%), Alternativa (0.52%), PREBK (0.28%), and LPRK (0.22%).
These results exclude conditional votes, postal votes, and votes from people with special needs.
Similar Issues Reported in Other Municipalities
Technical disruptions have also been reported in Prishtina, Podujeva, and Klokot, where vote counting for municipal assemblies was also delayed on October 14.
According to CEC spokesperson Valmir Elezi, the issue is linked to weak internet connections preventing live video transmission to the monitors used by observers.
“These monitors are supposed to display live footage from the counting tables so that all observers can follow the process transparently,” Elezi said.
He confirmed that CEC technical teams are actively working to restore the system and resume the counting process as soon as possible.
