ECAP Rejects PDK Candidates’ Requests for a General Recount of Votes

The Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) found the complaints of two candidates for MPs from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Bekim Haxhiu and Qëndrim Kryeziu, to be unfounded and rejected them. The two had requested a full recount of preferential votes nationwide.

These requests were submitted after the early elections for the Assembly of Kosovo, held on June 7, 2026. According to them, the fact that a partial recount had been ordered at several polling stations raised suspicions that inaccuracies could also exist in the rest of the counting process.

In decisions approved at the June 22 session, ECAP concluded that the claims presented remained at the level of speculation and were not supported by concrete and material evidence.

In their complaints, the candidates referred to the Central Election Commission’s decision to recount 185 regular polling stations, representing about 7.41 percent of the total 2,498 polling stations. They argued that the errors identified in this sample could indicate irregularities at other polling stations as well.

Bekim Haxhiu, listed under number 109 on the PDK list, had stressed that after the recount he received six additional votes, while the gap with the candidate ahead of him remained 102 votes. Qëndrim Kryeziu, listed under number 103, claimed that he was entitled to 589 additional votes from this process.

For its part, the CEC had requested that the complaints be rejected, explaining that the recount of 185 polling stations constituted a legal oversight mechanism and not proof of the existence of systematic irregularities. According to the CEC, Kryeziu’s claim of 589 additional votes was also unfounded, because the official data showed that he had only two fewer votes after the recount.

In its reasoning, ECAP stressed that the use of a control sample does not create a legal presumption of general inaccuracies in the counting process. The panel explained that a full recount can be ordered only when there is evidence of major and systematic irregularities.

“A full recount cannot be ordered solely on the basis of hypothetical claims or abstract suspicions, but only when facts and objective evidence exist,” the ECAP decision states.

According to the panel’s assessment, the changes identified at the polling stations that underwent recounting were minimal and went in both directions, which does not prove general irregularities.

The parties may challenge these decisions before the Supreme Court of Kosovo within 48 hours from the moment they receive the decision.