The Supreme Court of Kosovo has rejected as unfounded the appeal submitted by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which sought a repeat of the mayoral runoff election in Mitrovica.
On 14 November, the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP/PZAP) ruled against ordering a re-vote, after PDK claimed that ballot papers had been mixed between polling stations and that issues had occurred with the display of serial numbers on ballots. ECAP deemed the complaint unsubstantiated, stating that the party had presented no evidence proving irregularities.
Following this decision, PDK appealed to the highest judicial instance. On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that it had dismissed the appeal, upholding the reasoning of ECAP as valid and legally grounded.
“The Supreme Court finds that none of the parties’ claims have been proven or substantiated, and there is no legal basis to determine that substantial violations occurred that could impact the integrity of the electoral process or the final result. Therefore, the court assessed that the evidence presented does not provide sufficient grounds to create a conviction that a re-vote should be ordered in this case,” the Court’s statement reads.
In the runoff election, Vetëvendosje’s Faton Peci defeated PDK candidate Arian Tahiri.
