The start of the election campaign in Kosovo began with inciting, insulting or hateful language, mainly towards other political entities in 25 activities, where in many cases the Vetevendosje Movement stands out, but such language towards other political entities has also been used by the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.
This was pointed out at the conference of the Coalition of non-governmental organizations "Democracy in Action", where it was emphasized that political entities have spent 25 thousand euros on social networks alone so far.
"The largest number of activities organized so far is LDK with 51, PDK 45, LVV 28 and AAK with 19 activities, we are talking only about large public activities organized and announced by political entities. Other competing entities have also held activities...political entities have so far been able to organize rallies without restrictions, although DNV reporters have reported that during the week there were at least 6 cases in which political entities did not announce their activities to the municipal election commissions, as is the legal requirement."
According to Cekolli, so far there has been a low level of interest among citizens in participating in political party rallies, given that the rallies have been medium-sized, with a maximum of 200 participants.
Cakolli also stopped using fair and non-discriminatory language, which is one of the principles and values.
"This week we have had a hardening and worsening of the discourse used in the campaign in a full 25 activities during the monitoring of which cases of the use of hate speech or language were reported, mainly on political grounds. According to the intensity, it is clear that such language is expressed in the activities of the ruling party, next to the Vetëvendosje Movement, although also in the activities of other parties, including LDK with 10 cases, PDK with 6 cases and AAK with two cases where such inciting, offensive or hate speech was reported. Regarding the campaign in the online space, Democracy in Action has monitored a total of 679 candidates for MPs, who have a presence on social networks, among which 50 cases have been identified where the same have been either targets or authors of denigrating and inciting language, hate speech and contemptuous language towards third parties, as well as untrue and fake news, which have created public disinformation."
He added that education, health, economy, infrastructure and social welfare are the top 5 topics discussed at political party rallies. Cakolli also touched on the misuse of state resources during the campaign.
"The Democracy in Action observers have managed to identify 18 cases or activities during which there was misuse of public resources. In at least 7 cases, the presence of official vehicles of the central or local level was observed. In two activities, there were official vehicles when there were rallies of the ruling party, while in 5 cases when there were activities by the parties at the local level where they govern. Also, in 11 other activities, cases were identified when public officials, whether civil servants, educational, cultural, or health personnel, participated in the activities of political entities during their regular working hours," he said.
The conference highlighted that organized behavior by bus was observed in four cases. Meanwhile, in just one week, political entities spent around 25 thousand euros on sponsorship on social networks, mainly on Facebook. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
