Over two weeks after the parliamentary elections were held in Kosovo, the counting of a portion of the diaspora's votes began today, specifically those who voted in diplomatic missions.
The spokesperson for the Central Election Commission, Valmir Elezi, said that "it is impossible to say how long the counting will take", but that the results will be published as soon as the counting of the polling stations has been completed - both those of political entities and those of candidates for deputies.
On February 8, for the first time, Kosovo organized physical voting for members of the diaspora in the country's diplomatic missions around the world. Voting was held at 43 polling stations in 16 embassies and 14 consulates of Kosovo, in 19 different countries around the world.
At the conference held today, Elezi said that the same security procedures were followed at these polling stations as at polling stations in Kosovo, to ensure the integrity of the elections.
Representatives of political parties and civil society in Kosovo have complained about the length of the vote counting and verification process, but the CEC has insisted that it is preserving the integrity of the votes and that it prioritizes accuracy over speed.
Over 73 percent of those registered exercised their right to vote, namely over 15 thousand out of about 20 thousand people registered to vote at diplomatic missions.
So far, the counting of regular votes for parties and candidates for deputies for the regular parliamentary elections on February 9 has been completed. Voter lists are currently being scanned so that the counting of conditional votes, votes from people with special needs and those cast by mail can continue.
In addition to voting at embassies and consulates, the diaspora also voted by mail. According to CEC data, out of 69,000 packages of ballots, nearly 63,000 envelopes were approved, while less than five thousand were rejected.
The reasons for their rejection vary. For example, 729 envelopes were not evaluated at all because the applicants had chosen to vote physically at diplomatic missions. Other reasons for rejection include sending the envelopes with the ballot more than once or because the packages did not have a postmark, among others.
According to preliminary results, which include the counting of regular votes, the Vetëvendosje Movement is first with 40.8 percent of the votes won, followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 22.05 percent.
The Democratic League of Kosovo came in third with 17.64 percent of the votes, followed by the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo with 7.46 percent of the votes won.
Of the parties of the Serbian community, the Serbian List received the most votes, namely 4.62 percent. /REL (A2 Televizion)
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