In his complaint submitted to the KPC, Dema had claimed that during the process there had been violations of legal provisions, both procedurally and materially, and had also raised concerns about a discrepancy between the scoring and the reasoning provided by the evaluation panel.

He had requested that the complaint be accepted as grounded and that his evaluation be returned to the evaluation panel for reconsideration, arguing that the assessment of the interview and the concept document had not been supported by concrete facts and sufficient reasoning.

During the review of the complaint, KPC deputy chair Dardan Vuniqi stated that Dema’s claim of a lack of reasoning does not stand. According to him, the candidate had not presented evidence to support the claims raised, and the complaint did not clarify which element of the evaluation should be changed.

Vuniqi: The right Dema has sought has already been realized

“I asked for additional documents in the complaint, but I was unable to find the interest of the candidate in question, what exactly he had asked to be changed, since he has already obtained the right he requested. I think the discretion was in line with the regulation. A complaint from a candidate must be supported by evidence. We accepted the complaint ourselves, I listened to the interviews, but we cannot go further if we do not have a legal interest in what needs to be changed, because the matter being challenged, that right has been obtained. I stand by my argument that the same complaint should be rejected,” he said.

Vuniqi also stressed that Dema’s complaint does not present any procedural or material violation, but only disagreement with the points received.

In the discussion, KPC member Milot Krasniqi said that the Council should review the complaint only by relying on the criteria and pillars defined in the evaluation process.

Krasniqi: Candidates cannot be required to submit documents supporting their claims

“As regards the burden of proof, I believe a wrong interpretation is being made, because the candidate, not only this one but also the others, have no way to secure evidence to support them. I consider that with regard to the burden of proof, candidates cannot be required to submit documents supporting their claims. We should rely on three pillars: the evaluation carried out by the panel, which we do not have before us today, the interview, where we can best assess the candidates, and the third is the objection. On these bases, we can arrive at a clearer assessment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Acting Chief State Prosecutor Agron Qalaj said that for him it is important to understand to what extent the KPC has had the opportunity to exercise effective control over the assessment made by the evaluation panel.

At the same meeting, with six votes in favor, authorization was also approved for the director of the KPC Secretariat, Sami Istrefi, to represent the Council before the Constitutional Court, as well as for the submission of comments regarding the notification of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo.

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