Gashi Nominated by KPC for State Chief Prosecutor Post

In its 298th session held on Monday, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) selected Zejnullah Gashi as the candidate for State Chief Prosecutor, proposing him for decree to the acting President, Albulena Haxhiu.

Gashi secured the necessary majority of five votes, while Rafet Halimi received only one vote, and the three other candidates received none.

Following the voting, the KPC forwarded Gashi’s name to the competent body to be decreed at the head of the prosecutorial system.

The race for this position included five prosecutors: Atdhe Dema, Naim Abazi, Rafet Halimi, Shqipdon Fazliu and Zejnullah Gashi, reports “Oath for Justice”.

The KPC Chair, Arian Gashi, announced that the Evaluation Panel, with the support of the Secretariat, submitted the list of candidates and then opened the application files with all relevant documentation.

He clarified that after review, the Panel found that all five candidates met the conditions to lead the State Prosecution, a list which was approved by the Council.

Subsequently, the conceptual documents of each candidate were published, and the interview process was carried out, which was monitored by international partners and civil society organizations, following an open invitation.

According to Chair Gashi, the Panel conducted the interviews completely independently, ranking the candidates with their respective scores: Zejnullah Gashi 91.6 points, Atdhe Dema 89.3 points, Naim Abazi 89 points, Rafet Halimi 87 points, and Shqipdon Fazliu 86.3 points.

After notification of the right to appeal, the final report was drafted, recommending the list with the names: Zejnullah Gashi, Atdhe Dema, Naim Abazi, Rafet Halimi and Shqipdon Fazliu.

Then, the Council proceeded to a secret vote, where only member Milot Krasniqi abstained, citing his previous positions regarding this procedure.

The interview results were made public on July 1, 2026, with the same scores ranking: Gashi 91.6, Dema 89.3, Abazi 89, Halimi 87 and Fazliu 86.3.

The KPC also published the recordings of the interviews of all candidates.

Regarding the evaluation received, candidate Atdhe Dema submitted an appeal, but the Council rejected it at the meeting on July 10, 2026.

On June 19, 2026, the KPC had approved with 6 votes in favor and 1 against the candidacies of the five prosecutors who entered the race for the highest prosecutorial post.

The qualified candidates were: Atdhe Dema from the Department for Terrorism Investigation in the Special Prosecution, Naim Abazi from the Department for Investigation of Corruption and Financial Crime at the same prosecution, Rafet Halimi also from that department, Shqipdon Fazliu from the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor, and Zejnullah Gashi, Chief Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution in Prishtina.

“Oath for Justice” had reported on these five names a day after the close of applications, on June 11, 2026.

The decision to open the competition was made at the KPC meeting on May 18, 2026.

After its announcement, Blerim Isufaj, the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Prosecution, filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court, seeking a security measure to suspend the competition, but the court rejected this request, a decision which was also confirmed by the Court of Appeals.