Following its review of a complaint by the Community of Tarikats of Kosovo concerning the inability to separately declare religious affiliation in the 2024 Population Census, the Ombudsperson has published an Opinion on the recognition of religious communities and the determination of their legal status in the Republic of Kosovo.

A media release said that the lack of an option to declare religious affiliation on the census form was linked to shortcomings in the current legal framework. According to the Ombudsperson, this framework does not create an effective mechanism for the registration of religious communities and their acquisition of legal personality, resulting in practical and legal consequences both for the expression of religious affiliation and for the free exercise of their activities.

The Ombudsperson also assessed that the way the question on religious affiliation was formulated in the 2024 Population Census does not fully guarantee the right to religious self-identification and does not fully reflect religious pluralism in Kosovo. “Including only some religious communities and grouping other communities under the ‘Other’ category limits the institutional visibility of other religious communities and may create unequal treatment.”

According to the Opinion, the state must maintain neutrality and impartiality in religious matters and ensure equal treatment for all religious communities, in accordance with the Constitution and international human rights standards.

“In this regard, the Ombudsperson calls on the Government and the Assembly to take the necessary steps to adopt a comprehensive legal framework for the registration and legal status of religious communities, ensuring objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria, in accordance with the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the recommendations of the Venice Commission. In addition, public institutions must respect the right to self-identification, equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination in future processes of collecting statistical data and drafting public policies.”

The Ombudsperson reiterated that religious pluralism, the autonomy of religious communities and equality in their treatment are important pillars of a democratic society and of the effective guarantee of freedom of belief, conscience and religion.

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Acting Prime Minister and leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, said that six LDK MPs are not honoring the agreement reached between the two parties on the election of the president.

Kurti said he had met with representatives of the multi-ethnic group, with whom a meeting had previously been planned. He said he had briefed them on the negotiations, the agreement with the LDK and the candidacy of Bekim Sejdiu for the post of president.

According to him, representatives of the group expressed regret over the situation that had arisen and the inability to implement the agreement.

“They share with all of us the regret that this cannot be carried out because six MPs from the LDK are not honoring this agreement,” Kurti said.

The leader of LVV stressed that his party would continue its efforts to prevent new elections from being held.

“We will continue moving forward, trying to avoid new elections,” he said.

Kurti said that although yesterday’s development was negative, the agreement with the LDK had increased the number of secured votes for the election of the president.

“A negative development took place yesterday afternoon, but we have made progress, and in this legislature we are in a better position than in the past when it comes to the number of votes for the president. Feride Rushiti had 64, while Bekim Sejdiu now has 74,” he said.

He announced that he would hold internal consultations with the VV leadership.

Kurti said that during his meeting with LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku, he had briefed him on the current situation within Vetëvendosje, while Abdixhiku had informed him about developments within the VV.

“We remain optimistic, although the situation is more difficult than before. We will see what we can do in the coming days,” Kurti stressed.

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Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has begun a meeting with community representatives on the outskirts of Pristina, with the candidacy of Bekim Sejdiu for president also on the agenda.

Emilija Rexhepi, Fikrim Damka and Nenad Rashiq are attending the meeting, while Elbert Krasniqi has announced that he will not be present.

The talks are taking place as part of the efforts by the Vetëvendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo to secure support for their joint candidate for president, Bekim Sejdiu.

One of the issues expected to be discussed is the position of the community representatives and the possibility of their voting for this candidacy.

Kurti’s meeting with the communities is taking place after his meeting with Abdixhiku, at a time when political parties in Kosovo are seeking the votes needed to elect a president and resolve the institutional crisis.

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