Voting outside Kosovo, ambassadors as managers of voting centers

The Democratic Party has requested that ambassadors and consuls of the Republic of Kosovo not also be managers of voting centers on February 8 when physical voting will take place in the premises of embassies and consulates abroad.

During the Central Election Commission meeting, it was stated that ambassadors and consuls are part of politics and should not be part of the electoral process.

"It would be good if someone from the contingent of those proposed as diplomats, not consuls and ambassadors, one of them would also be the manager of that day on the day of the elections when they are held," stated CEC member from PDK, Ilir Gashi.

The Democratic League agreed that among the ambassadors and consuls there are political appointees and as center managers they have access to the spaces where the votes will be stored.

"These people have access to the verbal note and the security room, no one else does, it's a problem, a verbal note or diplomatic tape is signed and given, he is the person, he also has the key to the security room and keeps it," said CEC member from LDK Sami Hamiti.

The Vetevendosje Movement said that the approval should be done as soon as possible for training reasons. While regarding the concerns of PDK and LDK, it reminded them that the managers of voting centers in Kosovo are school principals who are appointed by the municipalities that these two parties have the most.

"School principals in over 800 voting centers and for the way they are elected, they sign a contract with the mayor of the municipality. We can continue to follow this logic indefinitely and in terms of number, we have more such voting centers than we have abroad, but it is also the way diplomatic representations and embassies are regulated and we cannot bypass an existing rule," said CEC member from LVV Alban Krasniqi.

Despite the PDK's abstention, in the end the CEC, by majority vote, decided that ambassadors and consuls would be managers of the voting centers.

The electoral process abroad will be organized in 17 embassies and 15 consulates of the Republic of Kosovo located in 19 different countries. (A2 Televizion)