25.01.2025. » 21:07 | DiA


Democracy in Action: The First Half of the Campaign - Marked by Numerous Activities but Marred by Provocative and Hate Speech from Political Parties 



Pristina, January 25 – The NGO coalition Democracy in Action (DiA) held its second press conference regarding the progress of the first two weeks of the election campaign, media coverage, hate speech, and expenditures on social media.

democracy-in-action-the-first-half-of-the-campaign-marked-by-numerous-activities-but-marred-by-provocative-and-hate-speech-from-political-parties
FOTO: DiA

Political parties have continued their activities with increased intensity, in a generally calm environment. However, the persistent use of provocative and hate speech during events organized by political entities remains a concerning issue.

One of the key developments of the second week of the campaign for the February 9 parliamentary elections is the decision by the Government of Serbia to distribute, starting February 1, 20,000 dinars (approximately 170 euros) to about 5,000 unemployed and "economically distressed" Serbs in Kosovo. This action constitutes external interference in Kosovo's electoral process and represents a blatant attempt to influence the political will of the Serb community by using financial aid as a tool to sway voter preferences.

Campaign in Numbers

Over the first two weeks of the campaign, Democracy in Action (DiA) monitored a total of 377 public rallies (160 in the first week and 217 in the second week) organized by political entities across all municipalities in the country, including Serb-majority areas. The party with the highest number of activities remains LDK with 109 events, followed by PDK with 106, LVV with 71, and AAK with 54. Other entities, including Lista për Familjen and parties representing other communities such as Lista Serbe, Za Slobodu Pravdu i Opstanak, Srpska Demokratija, IRDK, PRBK, and others, also organized activities.

Political entities concentrated their public gatherings in major urban centers, including Prizren (45 activities), Pristina (27), Peja (23), and Gjilan (22).

Freedom of Assembly

In general, the activities were organized in accordance with legal provisions regarding prior notification to the Municipal Election Commissions (MECs). However, in 14 instances, DiA observers reported that political entities held activities without notifying the MECs.

Public venues remain the preferred locations for campaign activities, with approximately 80% of events held in sports halls, cultural centers, schools, and similar facilities. Meanwhile, 20% of the events took place in private spaces such as restaurants or other halls.

Citizen Participation in Campaign Activity

Citizen interest in campaign events remains moderate. During the 14 days of the campaign, 47% of activities had up to 200 participants. Smaller events with up to 50 participants accounted for 25%, events with 200–500 participants made up 15%, and large gatherings with over 500 participants represented 13% of the total.

During the second week, no new cases of organized participation by students were reported, beyond the five cases documented and reported during the first week.

Use of Appropriate and Non-Discriminatory Language

The trend of using inflammatory or hate speech during the campaign persisted into the second week, despite fines issued by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) for such incidents. So far, 62 activities (approximately 20% of the total monitored by DiA) have been reported to include instances of inflammatory or hate speech among parties and their candidates.

Among parties, LVV leads with the highest proportion of activities involving inflammatory or hate speech, accounting for approximately 25% of its events, mostly based on political grounds. Following are LDK (20% of activities), AAK (18%), and PDK (11%).

Campaign in the Online Space

DiA has so far monitored a total of 679 parliamentary candidates, of whom 447 are men and 232 are women. During the second week, up to 250 cases were identified, including: i) Denigrating and hate speech, particularly in videos created by political entities and shared on social media; ii) Hate and disparaging language from third parties, often appearing in comments on candidates' posts; and iii) Fake news, creating disinformation and spreading messages that threaten the integrity of the campaign.

Monitoring of 152 portals identified nearly 900,000 comments on social media, where 6% contained hate speech. These reflect the use of hate speech in political communication, negatively affecting the public and democratic discourse of the country.

Women running in the 2025 parliamentary elections have faced hate speech online. 7% of social media comments were identified as hate speech. The most targeted candidates are:

  • Besa Kabashi Ramaj – out of 38 articles mentioning her, 16% contain hate speech;
  • Jeta Statovci – out of 29 articles mentioning her, 16% contain hate speech;
  • Albulena Haxhiu – out of 167 articles mentioning her, 10% contain hate speech.

Gender Equality and Inclusion

Women’s participation remains very low, with 55% of activities showing minimal participation of women—less than 10% of attendees. Regarding active participation in the electoral race, only 1/3 of speeches have been delivered by women.

Similarly, women have had a low presence in the media. Out of 606 electoral reports, only 86 (14%) featured women candidates. The airtime in electoral reports was also significantly lower for women compared to men, with only 28 minutes or 10% of television coverage dedicated to women. Similarly, televised debates were dominated by male participants, with only 44 women candidates (22%) participating in the 174 debates held.

As for the inclusion of persons with disabilities, only 5 instances were noted where they delivered speeches during campaign activities.

 

Political Messaging

The top issues and topics addressed in speeches or political messages remain education, economy, infrastructure, social welfare, and healthcare. Looking at the parties, different campaign themes can be observed between the ruling party and the opposition. While Vetëvendosje Movement has continued to center its campaign on the north of the country (53 cases) and social welfare (50 cases), the opposition parties have focused more on topics such as education, economy, healthcare, and infrastructure. The three opposition parties—LDK (87 cases), PDK (86 cases), and AAK (40 cases)—have made education the central theme of their campaigns.

Political messages have mainly been presented by party leaders and selected individuals, without giving all candidates from the respective municipalities where activities are held the opportunity to speak.

Freedom of Expression and Information

During the second week, parties and candidates continued their presence in the media. A relative exception remains Vetëvendosje Movement, whose candidates, despite participating in some debates and discussions, have continued their selective boycott of most private media outlets.

Electoral reports were predominantly dominated by major parties, with 277 out of 345 monitored reports dedicated to the following: PDK – 171 reports; LDK – 169 reports; AAK/NISMA Coalition – 154 reports; LVV – 151 reports

Within the parties, most of the coverage was focused on prime ministerial candidates and party leaders, who accounted for a total of 414 minutes.

Prevention of Misuse of Public Resources for Electoral Purposes

During the second week of the electoral campaign, a similar trend was observed in the misuse of public resources for electoral purposes. Compared to the 18 cases identified in the first week, 12 additional cases were recorded in the second week, bringing the total to 31 cases.

13 activities involved the presence of official vehicles, 15 of which were organized by opposition parties (LDK and AAK) mainly in municipalities they govern, and 2 cases at the central level during activities organized by the ruling party.

18 other activities involved public officials, such as civil servants, educational personnel, or healthcare staff, during regular working hours. Among these cases: 8 activities were organized by LDK; 7 activities were organized by PDK; 1 activity each was organized by LVV and AAK, respectively.

Transparenca dhe Financimi i fushatës

Although primarily organized in public venues, political activities have involved materials, products, and services that incur costs. These include the distribution of business cards (295 cases), brochures (134 cases), and promotional items (111 cases), as well as services such as sound systems (219 cases), professional video recording (192 cases), lighting and lasers (69 cases). Additionally, in at least 7 cases, participants were transported to events using organized means such as buses and minibuses.

 

Facebook Sponsorship Expenses: During the second week of the campaign, DiA analyzed the expenses of political entities and their candidates on social media. The data indicates an increase in the number of candidates sponsoring their political posts, with approximately 200 candidates overall, alongside a significant rise in the funds spent.

In the second week alone, nearly €40,000 was spent on sponsorships, across about 2,000 sponsored posts. This represents almost double the expenditure compared to the first week, during which around €25,000 was spent. The total expenditure for the two weeks exceeds €60,000.

Leading the expenditures is Lumir Abdixhiku, the LDK candidate for prime minister, with over €7,100 spent during these two weeks. He is followed by Bedri Hamza, the PDK candidate, who spent nearly €7,000. Among the top five spenders are the official LDK profile (€4,200), LDK candidate Krenar Xhaferi (€4,000), and PDK chairman Memli Krasniqi, who spent over €3,600.

Institutional Neutrality

Institutions involved in the election process have shown increased activity during the past week and throughout the two weeks of the campaign.

The Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) has reviewed and ruled on 45 cases related to breaches of the Code of Conduct during the campaign and other issues involving electoral staff at the municipal level. ECAP has issued 30 fines amounting to €155,500, mainly for: The language used during the campaign; The misuse of public resources; and Placing electoral materials (posters) in public spaces in violation of the law. In contrast, 15 complaints were dismissed as unfounded. Among the 30 penalized decisions: PDK was fined €53,500; LDK was fined €45,000; AAK was fined €33,500; LVV was fined €18,000; Koalicioni për Familjen was fined €4,500; PLE (Partia Liberale Egjiptiane) was fined €1,000.

The police have provided security for approximately 75% of campaign activities.