Frequently Asked Questions

A person is entitled to vote in October 22 Elections if he/she is 18 years old by or on Election Day and meets one of the following criteria:

1 Is a registered citizen in the Kosovo Civil Registry?

2) Lives abroad from or after January 1, 1998,.

3) Has gained a refugee status on or after January 1, 1995, and is now entitled to be registered in the Kosovo Civil Registry as a Kosovo citizen.

On the other hand, no person can vote if:

1) Was sentenced with prison sentence by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

2) Was accused by the Tribunal but have not appeared in front of the court, and.

3) Were declared mentally disable by a court decision.

The voter list and the census are different. The census includes only the residents of Kosovo at the time of the census, which does not include citizens who live abroad (Kosovo diaspora). The voter list, on the other hand, includes Kosovo citizens who live in Kosovo and abroad, and who are eligible to vote.

1) Valid Kosovo ID.

2) Valid Kosovo passport.

3) Valid travel document.

4) Valid Kosovo driver’s license.

5) Valid Internally Displaced People (IDP) card, or 6) valid refugee card (Article 90 of the Kosovo Law on General Elections). Voters who possess one of the documents in Article 90 of the Law on General Elections may vote regardless if the documents of UNMIK have expired, as long as they are in the Voter List.

Your voting center can be found by writing your personal number on this site: http://eomp.kqz-ks.org/VCChangeRequests/Index. This platform is only functional during the electoral process.

You can change your polling center during the voter services period, by visiting your Municipal Election Officer’s Office or online (http://eomp.kqz-ks.org/VCChangeRequests/Index). After you find your assigned polling center, you will have option to change your polling center by clicking the respective button. Upon clicking, the platform will show you the polling centers in your municipality, and you can select the one most convenient for you. Then you need to attach a scanned or image copy of your ID and fill in the form. Once your request has been approved, you will be notified by CEC.

The voter list will be published on certain dates on the CEC website.

The Confirmation and Challenge Period is determined during the election process, which is when you can contest the information in the voter list.

The list of candidates will be published on certain dates during election process and can be found on the CEC website.

Time and duration of official electoral campaign will be defined during the election process. One day before elections is electoral silence, during which no activity of electoral campaign is allowed.

All CEC voter information materials can be found on the CEC website (www.kqz-ks.org) and through CEC social media. Public information will be distributed through televisions, radios, newspapers and online news portals as well.

There are various ways to get engaged in elections. Aside from voting, you can also report any violation you witness to the Election Panel on Appeals and Complaint (EPAC). You can also be accredited to observe elections by joining domestic observer groups of political entities or civil society organizations, as well as work in election administration either by being directly recruited by the Central Election Commission or by being nominated for Polling Station Commission staff by political entities and some civil society organizations.

Certified political entities, local and international non-government organizations and media can be accredited and observe elections. If you are interested to observe elections, you need to join one of these entities in order to be eligible.

  1. What do I need to do to be accredited to observe elections?
  • If you are an observer from a certified political entity or a local non-governmental organization, your entity should fill in the Form for Accrediting Observers and complete the requested list with information for each observer. In addition, your entity should submit Observer Statements, which must be signed by all observers. You cannot observe elections if you are 1) a candidate in these elections, 2) a member of the police force, 3) a member of the military, or 3) a member of the Kosovo intelligence unit.
  1. What are the roles of observers?
  • Observes must be neutral and cannot interfere or influence the election process in any way.

If you live abroad you have to apply for this service by filling in the registration form, which can be found in the CEC website, and submit the form along with a copy of your ID within the given deadline via mail, email, or fax. If your application is accepted you will receive a confirmation along with the ballots. You can then fill the ballots, place it in the protected envelope, which must not have any mark, and then insert that envelope in another envelope. In the envelop that will contain the CEC mailing address you should also include a copy of your valid ID, and a note that contains your name, surname, your parent’s name, and your date of birth. This package should be mailed to the following address:

Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve 
Votimi Përmes Postës 
Posta 6, kutia postare 351
10000 Prishtinë
Republika e Kosovës

The category of voters with special needs and circumstances includes people who are homebound, persons in hospitals and prisons, or other cases where people are confined in their homes and cannot get out to vote due to safety concerns.

CEC will deploy mobile teams that facilitate the voting of voters with special needs, who for disability, health or other reasons are confined in their homes. You need to register for this service by filling in this form, and submitting it in the office of the Municipal Election Commission along with a copy of your ID and a diagnosis or support documents for why you need the service. The documents can be submitted by your family member, who also needs to have a copy of their ID, within the certain deadline during election process.

On Election Day, you can vote anytime between 7:00 and 19:00. At 19:00 polling centers close and counting begins.

  • Elections for the Assembly of Kosovo: You will receive 1 ballot. First make sure that the ballot you received is stamped, because only stamped ballots are valid. On the ballot, mark only one political entity on the left side, and up to 5 candidates on the right side. In each voting booth, there is a list of candidates for your information.
  • Local Election of Kosovo: You will receive 2 ballots – one for Municipal Assembly and one for Mayor. First make sure that the ballots you receive are stamped, because only stamped ballots are valid.
    • On the ballot for the Municipal Assembly, which has a blue frame, you have the political entities on the left and the squares for candidates on the right side. You will only choose one political entity on the left side and only one candidate on the right side. In each voting booth, there is a list of candidates for your information.  
    • On the ballot for Mayor, which has a yellow frame, you will have a list of candidates who will compete for your mayor, and you will only select one candidate, marking in the section before their name.

Votes casted in the polling station are counted at each polling station, once the polling centers close. They are counted by polling station staff, under the observation of election observers. The votes for the political entity are counted first, and then the votes for candidates. The results are inserted in the Result Reconciliation Forms (RRF) and Candidate Result Form (CRF), and then submitted electronically to the CEC to produce preliminary results. Conditional ballots, ballots from abroad, and ballots from voters with special needs are counted after Election day at the Count and Results Center (CRC).

Preliminary results can be seen at the CEC website a few hours after polling centers close. The results are collected by taking the information from the Result Reconciliation Form of each polling station and sent electronically to the CEC preliminary results database. These preliminary results will not include candidate votes, conditional votes, votes from abroad, and votes from voters with special needs, which will be counted later at the Count and Results Center.

You can report violations by calling for free toll number 0 800 55 555. Your report will be noted and then, depending on the violation, the CEC will coordinate with the field staff and carry out necessary action.

All citizens with the right to vote, representatives of political entities, Polling Station Commission staff, and local observers have the right to complain. The complaint must:

1) Be submitted by the person who has the right to complaint.

2) Be submitted within the required timeframe.

3) Be submitted in writing by filling in the ECAP form, which can be found at the ECAP secretariat, ECAP website, and all polling centers.

4) Refer to the specific violation of the Law on General Elections, Law on Local Elections, and CEC regulation.

5) Be signed by the person who submits the complaint.

Election violations are punishable by law, and the punishment varies from the type of violation, ranging from fines to prison. Following are some punishments for election activities that are in violation of the Kosovo Criminal Code:

Type of violation Sentence
Stopping or impeding a person from running in elections A fine or imprisonment up to 1 year. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 3 years in prison.
Forcing a candidate to withdraw their candidacy A fine or imprisonment up to 1 year. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 3 years in prison.
Impeding a candidate from their campaign activities A fine or imprisonment up to 1 year. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 3 years in prison.
Impeding a voter from voting or influencing their choice Imprisonment up to 1 year. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 5 years in prison.
Abuse of official election position A fine and imprisonment between 2 to 5 years.
Taking or receiving bribe in relation to voting Imprisonment between 1 and 5 years.
Intermediating a bribe in relation to voting Imprisonment between 1 and 5 years.
Voting or attempting to vote 1) one behalf of someone else, 2) more than once, and/or 3) using more than one voter list. Imprisonment between 6 months and 3 years.
Illegally impeding or stopping the voting process Imprisonment between 1 and 2 years. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 3 years in prison.
Violating the privacy of voting Imprisonment up to 6 months. If physical force is used in the process, the punishment can go up to 1 year in prison.
Falsifying results Imprisonment between 1 and 3 years.
Damaging voting documents Imprisonment between 1 and 3 years.