Hopes of a swift conclusion to Kosovo’s December 28 snap election took a blow on Tuesday after the Central Election Commission, CEC, said 36 per cent of 2,557 ballot boxes will undergo a recount over alleged irregularities in the first count.

Ten municipalities will undergo a full recount while 28 others will see up to 10 per cent of the boxes reopened for a review.

“This decision comes after findings from the vote verification of candidates for MPs from 33 different polling stations, where we have seen that the votes for the candidates counted in Municipal Counting Centres do not reflect the number of votes for the candidates in ballots,” Valmir Elezi, the CEC spokesperson, told BIRN on Wednesday.

“We plan to count an average of 80 ballot boxes during the day, so this process could take 12 to 14 days,” he added.

The decision is not expected to affect the final result in terms of party representation but might affect which MPs get seats. Election rules provide that besides choosing a party, a voter can pick up to ten party candidates in the ballot.

Democracy in Action, DiA, a local network of election observers, said on Tuesday that following the verification of 21 per cent of the candidates’ votes, they recorded “serious shortcomings, which undermine the credibility and integrity of the election results”.

The network has called for “a full recount” of all candidates’ votes, “to ensure the credibility of the process and public confidence in the election results”. They urged justice authorities to investigate all cases where there are suspicions of abuse in the counting process.

“Even though the result for the political parties is not in doubt, the accuracy of the vote count for candidates is a crucial element of voters’ will and an integral part of the election result,” DiA said.

CEC Spokesperson Elezi said the recount aims to “guarantee the accuracy and integrity of the electoral process”.

Preliminary results from the early parliamentary elections showed the ruling Vetevendosje, LVV, led by incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti, well in the lead with 51.1 per cent of the votes, which means he can likely form a government without coalition agreements and so end a ten-month-long institutional deadlock. Vetevendosje will have 57 MPs in the 120-seat chamber.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, led by Bedri Hamza, followed with 20.2 per cent. The Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, won 13.2 per cent of the votes and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, 5.5 per cent.

Local and international organisations have otherwise welcomed the smooth conduct of the election process by the CEC, despite the short time for preparations it had.

On Tuesday, Kreshnik Radoniqi, the CEC’s chairperson, warned of actions against those responsible if allegations are proven. “If potential manipulations with the votes of candidates within political parties are proven, the CEC will proceed cases to relevant institutions,” Radoniqi said during a CEC meeting.