The campaign was conducted with an increased dynamic of activities from day to day and an engagement of political entities on the ground and in digital spaces. Several incidents have marked this period, raising concerns about the respect of democratic standards. The main cases of incidents include the throwing of strong and pyrotechnic devices at a rally in Skenderaj, the burning of candidates' propaganda materials, as well as several incidents in Serb-majority municipalities, such as the obstruction of electoral activities in Gracanica, the throwing of a Molotov cocktail at a CEC vehicle, as well as several other incidents in the north of the country. These cases and acts have not only increased tensions on the ground, but have also affected the perception of freedom of assembly during the campaign.
During the election campaign, the media landscape was polarized, characterized by two main aspects: the ruling party maintained a consistently confrontational approach towards journalists; while some media outlets were perceived as biased in their coverage and reporting.
This year's campaign has also brought about a major mobilization on social media, with a significant increase in the number of sponsored posts and spending on digital promotion by parties and candidates. Despite the increased intensity of online campaigning, transparency over the financing of these activities remains an open issue, with monitoring having highlighted difficulties in identifying sources of funding and controlling spending by relevant bodies.
As for women’s participation in campaign activities, it was low, whether as speakers at rallies or in televised debates. Furthermore, women candidates faced a high number of direct attacks in online spaces, a trend that highlights the ongoing challenges in ensuring a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process.
The campaign in numbers
So far, DnV has monitored 786 activities of political entities across the country, of which 168 were held in the last week alone. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) organized the most public rallies (206), followed by the Democratic League of Kosovo (202), the Self-Determination Movement (163) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (113). Parties from non-majority communities have also organized rallies, led by the Serbian List with 24 activities, as well as other parties (Za Slobodu Pravdu i Opstanak; Srpski Nardoni Pokret; Srpska Demokratija; Partija Kosovskih Srba; and others).
Freedom of assembly
DNV observers have reported that 30 of the activities of political entities were held in violation of the legislation which establishes obligations for notifying activities 24 or 48 hours in advance.
Sports halls, cultural centers, schools, and others were widely preferred places for organizing activities by political entities, which held 75% of their activities in public facilities.
Civic participation in activities
In terms of civic participation, almost half of the rallies were medium-sized, with up to 200 participants. Small rallies with up to 50 participants account for 23% of the activities, while large rallies with over 500 participants are 15% of the total number of activities.
Using fair and non-discriminatory language
This campaign has been characterized by prominent instances of the use of hateful, discriminatory, or offensive language. Not counting today's activities, in a total of 130 activities, or about 1/5 of the public gatherings organized, instances of such language have been reported.
In percentage terms, the Vetëvendosje Movement leads in terms of activities held where there was hate speech – with around 21% of activities; followed by the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo with 19% of activities; the Democratic League of Kosovo with around 18% of activities; and the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 14% of organized activities, in which there was inciting or hate speech.
Campaign in the online space
During the 30 days of the election campaign, DnV monitored a total of 679 candidates for MPs, of whom 447 were men and 232 were women. During the monitoring, 878 cases of i) denigrating language and incitement to hatred were identified, especially in videos made by political entities and distributed on social networks; ii) Hateful and contemptuous language by third parties, which often appear in the comments of posts by candidates for MPs; iii) Fake news, which creates disinformation and spreads messages that endanger the integrity of the campaign.
Of these, 387 cases or 44% of cases targeted women from political entities.
In parallel, monitoring of 152 online portals in Albanian and Serbian was carried out, where over 38,000 comments were identified, of which 5% contained hate speech towards political entities. These reflect the presence of hate speech in political communication, which harms the public and democratic discourse of the country. Also, hate speech towards the candidates for prime minister is as follows:
-Albin Kurti – out of 10,164 articles where he is mentioned, 6% constitute hate speech
-Bedri Hamza – out of 7056 articles where he is mentioned, 5% constitute hate speech.
– Lumir Abdixhiku – out of 6001 articles where he is mentioned, 5% constitute hate speech.
– Ramush Haradinaj – out of 4121 articles where he is mentioned, 4% constitute hate speech.
Women running for the 2025 parliamentary elections are facing hate speech online. Of the 121,385 comments analyzed on social media, (6%) were identified as hate speech. The most targeted candidates include:
-
Fitore Pacolli Dalipi (LVV) – out of 71 articles where she is mentioned, with 6848 comments, of which 19% constitute hate speech;
-
Besa Kabashi Ramaj (PDK) – out of 44 articles where she is mentioned with 574 comments, 17% constitute hate speech;
-
Emrije Bashota (AAK) – out of 1 article where she is mentioned with 100 comments, 10% constitute hate speech;
-
Hykmete Bajrami (LDK) – out of 273 articles where she is mentioned with 10,117 comments, 9% constitute hate speech;
Gender equality and inclusion
Women's participation remains extremely low, with more than half of the activities reporting minimal participation – with only up to 10% of participants being women. As for active participation in the electoral race, out of over 160 speakers, only 44 were women, or less than 30%. This means that, on average, out of 7 campaign speakers, a maximum of only 2 were women.
Similarly, a low presence of women was noted in the media. Out of 376 monitored debates, only 22% of the participants were women. Similarly, in election chronicles, out of 1230 chronicles where candidates for deputies were presented, only 14% of them were women. Regarding the television duration in election chronicles, the time offered was significantly lower for women compared to men. Only 46 minutes, or 12% of the television space, was given to women.
Political messages
Education, economy and wages, infrastructure, social welfare, culture, youth and sports are the top five topics and issues addressed during the campaign speeches. The Vetëvendosje Movement had the north of the country and social welfare as the core theme of its campaign, which it addressed in about 120 out of 160 organized activities. On the other hand, in terms of program, the opposition parties oriented their campaign towards education, economy and wages, infrastructure and health.
The Democratic League of Kosovo addressed education and economic issues in about 160 of its 202 events. Similarly, the Democratic Party of Kosovo addressed these two topics the most, in about 170 of its 206 events; as did the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, which addressed these same topics in about 90 of its 113 events.
As for the competing Serbian parties, their campaign was less focused on conveying programmatic messages and more focused on mutual attacks and accusations of corruption. So far, these parties have presented very few clear political plans, failing to address the rights and concerns of the Serbian community.
Freedom of expression and information
During the 30 days of the election campaign, a total of 376 debates were monitored, of which debates with one candidate/political entity dominated with a total of 212. In terms of participation in debates by party, PDK leads, which participated in 95 debates, followed by the AAK Coalition – Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, NISMA, Conservatives, Intellectuals, which participated in 92 debates, LDK in 69 debates and LVV participated in 36 debates.
Regarding election chronicles, the major parties have dominated the television space. Out of 1754 chronicles broadcast during the 30 days of the campaign, 1389 chronicles were broadcast for the major parties (PDK-362, LDK-361, AAK/NISMA Coalition- 339 and LVV 327). Meanwhile, regarding the space within the parties, most of the time throughout the campaign was dedicated to the candidates for prime minister and the leaders of the competing lists.
Preventing the misuse of public resources for electoral purposes
During this campaign, a total of 45 cases of misuse of public resources for electoral purposes were identified, which were evidenced in the activities of almost all parties - including the ruling party at the central level, but also municipalities where other parties govern.
Transparency and Campaign Finance
Although mainly organized in public buildings, the activities of political entities have included materials, products and services that have costs. The distribution of business cards (612 cases), brochures (274 cases), props (243 cases), drinks (165 cases) as well as services such as sound (449 cases), professional video recording (392 cases), lighting and lasers (145 cases) and large LEDs (117 cases) are some of the products and services for which the parties have spent the most. The use of these services and materials has intensified especially in the last week, within the framework of the closing activities of the political entities.
Also, to date, at least 19 cases of organized behavior of participants in buses or minibuses have been identified.
Facebook sponsorship spending: During this campaign, DnV has analyzed the spending of political entities and their candidates on social networks. The data shows a significant increase in the number of posts and funds spent. During this campaign, we had about 8 thousand sponsored posts by political entities and their candidates, with over 200 thousand euros spent. Over the past week, a massive intensification of sponsorship and spending on social networks has been observed.
The LDK candidate for Prime Minister, Lumir Abdixhiku, is the candidate who, over the last 30 days, has spent over 18 thousand euros on sponsorship in 153 Facebook and Instagram posts. Following him is the PDK candidate, Bedri Hamza, who has spent over 17 thousand euros on sponsorship of almost 300 posts. In third place for the most expenses is a party from the Roma community, Opre Roma Kosova, which has spent almost 16 thousand euros. After them is the ruling party, Lëvizja Vetëvendosje, which has sponsored the most posts (about 900 of them) worth 14 thousand euros. Memli Krasniqi's profiles - with 10 thousand euros; Ramush Haradinaj - with almost 9 thousand euros; the official LDK profile with about 8 thousand euros; LDK candidate, Krenar Xhaferi - with 5,600 euros; AAK candidate, Egzon Kelmendi – with around 4 thousand euros; and PDK candidate, Aurora Berisha – with 3,400 euros; round out the list of the top ten biggest spenders on social networks for the past 30 days.
Institutional neutrality
During these 30 days of the campaign so far, the ECAP has issued a total of 222 decisions regarding complaints for violations of the election campaign rules, of which 125 were approval decisions and 97 rejection decisions. Regarding the penal decisions, the ECAP has imposed a total of 654,500 euros in fines on political entities that have committed legal violations of the Code of Ethics. These fines have been imposed mainly due to violations related to inciting and hate speech, use of public resources, placement of election material in public spaces, use of children in the election campaign and obstruction of journalists. LVV was fined 202 thousand and 500 euros, PDK with a fine of 143 thousand and 500 euros, LDK with a fine of 141 thousand and 600 euros, AAK-NISMA with a fine of 81 thousand and 200 euros, Coalition for the Family with a fine of 33 thousand euros, Serbian List with a fine of 21 thousand and 500 euros, PLE-Liberal Egyptian Party with a fine of 3 thousand and 3 thousand euros, SRB Demokratija with a fine of 12 thousand euros, Partia Kosovksi SRBA with a fine of 7 thousand and 200 euros, Za Slobodno Pravnu i Opstanak- N.Rashiq with a fine of 3 thousand and 500 euros, Nova Stranka with a fine of 1 thousand and 500 euros, IRDK with a fine of 1 thousand and 500 euros, Ashkali Party for Integration with a fine of 1 thousand and 1000 euros and Coalition VAKAT with a fine of 1,500 euros. In terms of security, the police took care of over 70% of the campaign activities. This week, there was a case of media obstruction in reporting on the election process, for which the ECAP imposed a fine on the Vetëvendosje Movement.
