He thanked the prosecutors for their work and professional commitment, highlighting the need for cooperation, coordination and shared dedication in carrying out their constitutional and legal responsibilities.

According to Gashi, the work of the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor must be based on professionalism, integrity, efficiency and accountability, with the aim of strengthening the rule of law and increasing citizens’ trust in the prosecution system.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chief Prosecutor Gashi expressed his readiness for continued cooperation with all prosecutors. He stressed that the expected results in implementing the institution’s constitutional and legal mandate can only be achieved through joint commitment, according to a statement from the Public Communications Office at the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor.

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Gashi’s appointment comes after Kosovo had been without a chief prosecutor for nearly four years.

Haxhiu received Gashi in a meeting on Tuesday, where she handed him the appointment decree, after the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council had proposed him following a months-long competition, which has been opposed by the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Prosecution of Kosovo, Blerim Isufaj.

Blerim Isufaj has complained to the Constitutional Court against the competition, because he believes the Prosecutorial Council had no legal basis to open a new competition for the Chief State Prosecutor, claiming that the court’s decision from November 2023 on his appointment to this position is still in force.

But Haxhiu said she decided to decree Gashi after a “careful and comprehensive review of the submitted materials, including also relevant information obtained from competent security institutions and reports from organizations that have monitored the selection process.”

“Considering the importance of this function and the need for the full functioning of justice institutions, I have acted in accordance with constitutional and legal responsibilities,” Haxhiu said.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutorial Council said that with the signing of the decree by Haxhiu, the constitutional and legal procedures for his appointment at the head of Kosovo’s prosecutorial system have been concluded.

Gashi will serve as Chief State Prosecutor for a seven-year term.

Kosovo has been without a Chief State Prosecutor since Aleksandër Lumezi’s mandate ended in 2022.

In the absence of a fully mandated chief prosecutor during this time, the post was held in an acting capacity by Besim Kelmendi and Agron Qalaj.

Former President Vjosa Osmani had not decreed Isufaj for this position when the Prosecutorial Council proposed him in 2023, on the grounds that some legal violations were found in the selection process.

The international community had criticized the manner of Isufaj’s selection by the KPC, and has on occasion called for the process to return to square one. /REL

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The KPK announced that after a meeting held today, it forwarded all relevant documentation to the acting President, Albulena Haxhiu.

According to the statement, the nomination is accompanied by the complete documentation of the selection process, from the start of the procedure to the final decision of the KPK.

With this submission, the procedure now moves to the processing stage by the Presidency, while further steps will be taken in accordance with the powers and deadlines set out in the legislation in force.

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From the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, Vullnet Bugaqku emphasizes that Haxhiu faces no legal obstacles to finalize this decree. He adds that Gashi’s appointment would simply be a formalization of the procedure without any constitutional or legal issues.

Bugaqku clarified that past practice and the rulings of the Constitutional Court have made it clear that even the acting president has all the authorizations to perform such functions. He called on institutions not to further drag out the process, stressing that Kosovo has long been functioning with an acting official in this key position.

The monitor from the Kosovo Law Institute, Flamur Kabashi, confirmed that the evaluation phase by the Prosecutorial Council concluded fully respecting the standards and regulations in force. He noted that compared to previous attempts, where the process was compromised and did not produce a suitable candidacy, this time a completely different approach was observed.

According to Kabashi, elements of transparency, objectivity, confidentiality, and equality among contenders were present at every stage of the process. He underlined the urgent need for the state to be equipped with a Chief Prosecutor with full competencies, recalling that this vacuum has lasted for nearly five years.

Bugaqku from KDI also praised the highly transparent approach of the KPK throughout the selection mechanism. According to him, no sign of favoritism or any tailoring of questions and procedures during the interviews that could have served any of the candidates was identified.

Kabashi stressed that filling this post with a person who holds full authority is vital for the proper functioning of the prosecutorial system and for a more efficient fight against crime. He recalled that this call has also come from international reports, including the Progress Report, which have insisted on a transparent and fair process for all candidates.

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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.

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Representatives of the National Audit Office, prosecutors from the Ferizaj and Gjilan regions, as well as representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), attended the event.

Bahri Hyseni, a State Prosecutor and at the same time coordinator for cases related to auditing, said that holding these workshops stems from the good inter-institutional cooperation between the State Prosecution and the National Audit Office.

He underlined that similar events will continue in other regions of Kosovo, with the aim of strengthening inter-institutional coordination, exchanging professional experience, and increasing effectiveness in handling referred cases.

According to Hyseni, the uninterrupted cooperation between the State Prosecution and the National Audit Office helps identify and handle cases more efficiently when suspicions of criminal offenses are detected during the audit process.

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In their joint statement, these organizations said they have monitored all the main stages of this process, including the approval of the regulation, the confirmation of candidacies, the drafting of questions, and the interviewing of the five candidates.

According to the coalition of NGOs, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) has addressed a considerable portion of the shortcomings that had been identified in the previous process for selecting the State Chief Prosecutor. They stress that the changes made to the regulation have aligned the procedures with the legislation in force, clarified competencies, and removed procedural ambiguities.

The organizations also positively assessed the publication of the candidates’ concept papers, underlining that this step has strengthened transparency and given the public and the media the opportunity to become familiar in advance with each candidate’s vision.

The report says that during the candidacy verification phase, no substantive problems were encountered and that all five candidates met the legal criteria to continue in the race.

According to the monitoring findings, the drafting of the standard questions was done in the presence of monitors and the entire process was audio and video recorded, while measures were taken to guarantee its confidentiality and integrity.

The coalition assesses that the most important finding is related to the fact that no unequal treatment of candidates was observed during the interviews. All were interviewed under the same circumstances, received the same standard questions, had equal time to respond, and were evaluated immediately after the interviews ended.

Likewise, the monitors did not identify communication among members of the Evaluation Panel that could have raised suspicions of coordinated scoring or undermined the independence of the process.

IKD, KDI, and FOL stressed that, because the points difference between the candidates is small, the remaining stages until the appointment of the State Chief Prosecutor must also be conducted carefully, transparently, and in line with the principles of legality, meritocracy, and equality.

The coalition also announced that it will continue monitoring until all procedures are completed, while the final report will be made public after the process is concluded.

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Those taking part in the process were Atdhe Dema, Naim Abazi, Rafet Halimi, Shqipdon Fazliu and Zejnulla Gashi.

The interviews began at 11:00 a.m. and ended at 5:45 p.m.

Each candidate was interviewed for 45 minutes to one hour, while all answered nine questions, which were the same for each of them.

This process was monitored by KosovaPress.

Three hours before the start of the interviews, at 08:00, the Evaluation Panel held a meeting to prepare the standard questions.

The Kosovo Prosecutorial System is expected to hold a press conference starting at 18:00, when the results of the interviewed candidates are expected to be published.

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