On the verge of the official election campaign for the Early Parliamentary Elections of October 6th, the coalition of local CSOs, Democracy in Action (DiA), has mobilized 72 long-term observers (LTOs) to monitor the activities of political entities, including their spending during the 10-day election campaign throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. Through an impartial and objective observation, DiA aims to contribute to the increase of transparency, trust and inclusiveness in the electoral process.

DiA observers will focus on assessing the adherence of political entities and candidates to the Code of Conduct in the election campaign, which enables the creation of conditions for an equal, fair and democratic campaign. In addition, DiA will monitor the media and the space they endow to political entities, candidates for Prime Minister and those for MPs in the campaign.

DiA calls for political entities and candidates running for elections to conduct an accountable and democratic campaign, through withholding to violations of the Code of Conduct and other election-related legal provisions. Political entities should refrain from denigrating and sexist language evident in political encounters as of the Assembly dissolution, as it may incite hatred, violence and tensions in the political environment. Democracy in Action urges political entities not to use public resources and assets for election campaign purposes, not to engage public servants in the campaign, and to not organize children participation in electoral rallies. They should also avoid placing propaganda materials in public spaces where it is prohibited by law.

Furthermore, DiA invites political entities to provide equal opportunities for women and people with disabilities in their pre-election activities, as candidates or as participants.

During the last four election cycles, the large number of invalid ballots was considered as one of the major challenges of the electoral process, while institutions and political entities have not made sufficient efforts to change this situation. Timely informing of voters to vote properly is a prerequisite for reducing the number of invalid ballots. Therefore, in order to avoid the lost votes DiA invites the Central Election Commission and political entities to genuinely engage on voter education by raising awareness and providing accurate information on how to vote on election day.

In th eve of the official launch of the election campaign, DiA calls all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo to participate in the electoral activities of political entities, in order to get information on their platforms.

Lastly, DiA invites all institutions involved in the organization and management of elections to guarantee a fair electoral process for the citizens to express their will freely and without fear. DiA also invites security and justice institutions to be on-call duty and to ensure a peaceful pre-election environment.

DiA is committed to contributing to enhancing the integrity of the electoral process through regular, impartial and objective public observation and reporting.