The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kosovo has officially launched the counting process for individual MP candidates following the conclusion of political entity vote counting at regular polling stations.
In a press conference held on Monday afternoon, CEC Spokesperson Valmir Elezi detailed the transition of electoral materials and outlined the logistical measures deployed to ensure transparency and efficiency.
Logistical Transition of Ballots
Elezi confirmed that following the close of the voting process across 2,498 regular polling stations, the initial tally for political parties was completed on-site. Subsequently, election materials from all 949 voting centers were securely retrieved and distributed among the 38 municipal counting centers.
“Following the completion of the voting process in 2,498 regular polling stations, the process of counting votes for political entities has concluded,” Elezi stated. “After completing the additional administrative procedures, election materials from 949 voting centers were withdrawn and successfully delivered to the 38 municipal counting centers.”
Under Kosovo’s Law on General Elections, a distinct two-step protocol is mandated:
- Political Entities: Votes cast for political parties are counted directly at individual polling stations immediately after polls close.
- MP Candidates: Preferential votes cast for individual candidates running for parliament are tallied exclusively within the centralized municipal counting centers.
Scale of the Counting Operation
To manage the massive volume of individual candidate ballots, the CEC has initiated a round-the-clock operation. Over 2,200 commission members split into 580 specialized counting teams are working across two designated shifts.
[CEC Counting Operation Framework]
• Total Polling Stations: 2,498
• Consolidated Voting Centers: 949
• Municipal Counting Hubs: 38
• Deployed Personnel: 2,200+
• Active Counting Teams: 580
The process began Monday morning within 15 municipalities and expanded to the remaining 23 municipal centers later in the afternoon. Elezi assured the public that the verification of political entity results alongside candidate tallies will remain fully transparent, with progress updates uploaded in real-time to the official CEC results platform.
Conditional and Diaspora Ballots
The spokesperson also provided preliminary statistics regarding alternative voting methods facilitated by the CEC, which include conditional voting, mobile teams for voters with special needs, and diaspora voting via mail and diplomatic missions.
Preliminary data from 52 conditional voting stations spread across the country’s 38 municipalities indicates that:
- 8,751 citizens registered and cast conditional ballots.
- 3,144 voters with special needs successfully participated through the CEC’s mobile team program.
These alternative ballots will be processed and integrated into the final totals once the primary candidate verification at the municipal level concludes.
