Despite fines imposed by the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel and the Supreme Court on political parties for using hate speech during the electoral campaign, a Kallxo.com investigation revealed that most of the materials are still accessible online.
Although the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, ECAP, and the Supreme Court penalised political parties in Kosovo for spreading hate speech during the electoral campaign, they have failed to remove the offensive content from social media. An investigation by Kallxo.com reveals that many posts, especially those shared by supporters, remain accessible on various social platforms.
Over 30 posts from political parties, which generated millions of views and thousands of shares, assessed hate speech by the ECAP, remain publicly accessible on social media, primarily on platforms directly managed by the political parties.
Kallxo.com’s analysis revealed that the ECAP panel did not instruct MP candidates or political parties to remove the offensive content from their pages. Though, in some instances, Kallxo.com found that the ECAP imposed fines on parties for failing to take down the materials.
The political party most penalised for hate speech is the ruling Self-Determination Movement, LVV, with 19 fines. The second most fined party is the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, which was fined six times, followed by the Coalition for Families, also fined six times. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, was fined three times, while Srpska Lista and the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, each received one fine. Additionally, the Egyptian Liberal Party was fined two times.
LVV fails to remove material
Supporters of Vetëvendosje celebrating in Mitrovica, February 9, 2025. Photo: BIRN
KALLXO.com’s research reveals that 14 original posts, for which LVV and its MP candidates were fined over 100,000 euros, are still accessible on the party’s official social media pages.
One such post is by MP candidate Dimal Basha, who shared a photograph on Facebook where he placed Aleksandar Vucic’s name over the logo of the LDK political party. Despite being fined 10,000 euros, this post remained visible on Facebook until February 25 (archive)
KALLXO.com’s investigation also uncovered that a post by MP candidate Fitore Pacolli, in which she referred to PDK supporters as “hooligans,” is still active on social media, despite the ECAP decision (archive). Similarly, a post by Albulena Haxhiu, Minister of Justice, in which she accused Sami Lushtaku of the PDK of attacking Albin Kurti’s escort and which was found to contain hate speech by ECAP, is still accessible (archive).
ECAP fined LVV 6,000 euros for posts by some of its supporters. A post from the profile “Albin Forca,” which was penalised for hate speech, is still live. The same ECAP decision found posts from Halil Geci to contain hate speech, and these posts also remain active as of February (archive).
Additionally, ECAP concluded that statements made by Minister of Agriculture Faton Peci at a rally in Vushtrri/Vucitrn contained hate speech. Despite the 3,000-euro fine for LVV, this post is still visible on LVV’s official page (archive)
One of the most widely discussed materials was a speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gërvalla-Schwartz in Deçan, where she referred to the Haradinaj brothers (Ramush and Daut) as “self-proclaimed generals.” This speech was fined 10,000 euros by ECAP, but it remains accessible on LVV’s page (archive)
Furthermore, Minister of Justice Albulena Haxhiu’s speech on January 24, which was deemed a violation of electoral rules, is still available on social media (archive). Similarly, a post by Glauk Konjufca, the Head of the Assembly, on January 23, which violated electoral rules and resulted in a 5,000-euro fine, is still visible on LVV’s social media pages. (archive).
Lastly, a post by Prime Minister Albin Kurti at a rally in Ferizaj/Urosdevac on January 19, which resulted in a 3,500-euro fine for LVV due to hate speech, remains active despite the penalty (archive).
PDK’s materials led by supporters
Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK. Photo: BIRN.
According to electoral rules, political parties can also be penalised when it is proven that their supporters have distributed hate speech. During the analysis of materials, Kallxo.com found that the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, was penalised in all cases for posts made by its supporters, rather than for publications on the official pages of the party or its parliamentary candidates. At the same time, some of the content was removed.
Six posts published by PDK supporters are still publicly available on social media.
PDK was fined 16,000 euros for a post by Rasim Brahim Rexhepi, who posted a photo referring to Albin Kurti as “Albin Serbin.” (archive) This material was removed from Facebook.
Despite the fine for the party, a post made by supporter Demë Berisha on February 1 remains accessible on social media (archive).
PDK was also fined for a post by Muhamet Shala, who on February 2, shared a photo and video containing hate speech on his Facebook account, which remains accessible (archive and archive).
Another publisher, XH. Morina, a PDK supporter, was filmed tearing up photos of LVV MP candidate Fjolla Ujkani. This post is still available on the social media platform TikTok (archive).
Additionally, PDK received a 10,000-euro fine for posts by Musli Obriha and Rasim Brahim Rexhepi. Obriha’s post was deleted, while Rexhepi’s remains online. This material is still accessible (archive).
A post by Armend Ahmeti, an employee of the Skenderaj Municipality, for which PDK was fined 8,000 euros, was deleted.
Fined content of Coalition for the Family accessible on social media
TV program ‘Debat Përnime’. Photo: BIRN
The Coalition for the Family is another political party that was fined six times by ECAP, totaling over 30,000 euros for hate speech and inappropriate language during the campaign. Many of these publications are still accessible.
Posts by parliamentary candidate Eman Rrahmani, for which the Coalition for the Family was fined over 20,000 euros, remain accessible online (archive, archive) (archive), (archive).
The Coalition for the Family was fined 7,600 euros, but the Supreme Court changed the decision, not upholding the fine.
A 5,000-euro fine was also imposed on the Coalition for the Family for a post by Jeton Haxhimustafa, which remains accessible (archive).
LDK with one fine
LDK party leader, Lumir Abdixhiku at a gathering with supporters during electoral campaign in 2025. Photo/ Lumir Abdixhiku Facebook Account
The Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, received two fines from ECAP, but one was annulled by the Supreme Court. The only fine upheld was for a post by MP candidate Xheneta Syka Kelmendi for sharing a video that compared Albin Kurti to Adolf Hitler.
Kelmendi deleted the post from her page, but Kallxo.com found that the original material is still online and has over 400,000 views on Facebook (archive).
AAK MP candidates retain posts for which they were fined
Ramush Haradinaj, AAK candidate for Kosovo’s Prime Minister, on ‘Debat Pernime’ TV Programme on February 5, 2025. Photo: BIRN.
The AAK-NISMA Coalition was fined several times by ECAP for hate speech on social media. Candidate Labinot Gjini from Vitia was found to have spread hate speech in a post on January 29, which is still accessible online.
AAK was fined 16,600 euros for a post by Hajdar Sutaj, the Mayor of Decan, which also can be found online (archive).
AAK was fined for a post by parliamentary candidate Ardian Rama, which remains online (archive). Another post by Rifat Stojkaj, director of the Agriculture Directorate in Deçan, also continues to be available (archive).
English version prepared by Ardita Zeqiri