Certification of Political Entities

15.1 In order to contest an election, a Political Entity must be certified for that purpose by the CEC.

15.2. Application for certification may be submitted at any time during normal working hours up to sixty (60) days prior to election. No application for certification may be considered by the Office between the 60th day prior to an election and the day of the election.

15.3 A registered Political Party is automatically certified but shall notify the Office within fifteen (15) days of the declaration of the election date by the President of Kosovo of any change of the president of the party, authorized representative of the party, or authorized financial representative of the party, and any necessary information related to such changes.

15.4 A registered Political Party not wishing to be certified for an election shall notify the Office within fifteen (15) days of the declaration of the election date by the President of Kosovo that it is not contesting the election, or that the Political Party will be seeking certification as a coalition in accordance with this law.

15.5 The CEC shall certify an eligible Political Entity if it submits a complete application, in the form prescribed and by a date established by a CEC rule the CEC. Such application shall be accompanied by all supporting documentation required under this article as follows:

a) a Registration Certificate (ID number in case of independent candidates);

b) name, surname, address, and telephone number of the Entity’s President where applicable, and the authorized representative and the telephone number of the headquarters of the political entity;

c) a copy of the party’s seal, or in case of coalitions, a copy of the seal of all political parties in the coalition;

d) name, surname, address, and telephone number of the Financial Officer of the Entity;

e) name, surname, address, and telephone number of a person authorized to deal with electoral process on the Entity’s behalf;

f) statement signed by the President of the Party, or bearer of the list for other Entities committing to respect and abide by the Code of Conduct as set forth in this Law;

g) a policy statement, not exceeding 150 words, and in a language or languages of its choice, for the purposes of distribution to voters intending to participate in the elections as out of Kosovo voters. The Policy Statement shall be consistent with the Code of Conduct set forth in this Law and signed by the President or authorized signatory for the Political Entity;

h) in the case of a coalition, , a statement signed by the president of each registered political party participating in the coalition consenting to participate, indicating the manner in which the candidates shall be distributed between the members of the coalition on the ballot, and committing to respect and abide by the Code of Conduct of this law;

i) in the case of citizens initiative, the ID number of the leader of the initiative, the authorized representative, and the authorized financial representative. In the case of an independent candidate or citizens initiative, the candidate or the leader of the initiative may also serve as authorized representative and financial representative;

j) name, surname, address and telephone number of the leader of the list of the coalition, representative and financial representative;

k) in the case of a coalition, a copy of any seal of the coalition.

l) The Office shall be informed of any change in Political Party’s president or financial officer shall be notified within five (5) working days of changes.

15.6 A Political Entity shall submit with its application a certification fee as defined by Article 23 of this law.

15.7 Subject to the exemptions specified in Articles 15.8 below, each application for certification shall include the necessary number of signatures as set forth in CEC rule.

15.8 A Political Party that gained at least one (1) seat in the Kosovo Assembly in the last election of the same type is not required to submit signatures in support of its application for certification in elections for the Assembly of Kosovo.

15.9 A person may give his or her signature in support of only one Political Entity per election.

15.10 Each Political Entity shall, in its application for certification, commit in writing and sign to follow the Code of Conduct for Political Entities as set forth in Chapter VI of this Law.

15.11 Each Political Entity shall indicate in its application whether it wishes to contest any of the seats guaranteed for the representation of Kosovo Serb and other non-majority communities under Article 64 of the Constitution.

15.12 Any failure to comply with the requirements of this Article shall entitle the CEC to suspend the application process. In addition to the certification requirements of this Chapter, above, the CEC shall, on receipt of a certification application by a political entity, including a registered political party, require the ECAC to provide it with a written confirmation that the political entity applying has fully paid any fines in relation to any previous election and confirm that there are no financial or other outstanding liabilities.

15.13 All requests to withdraw a certified political entity from the election shall be submitted to the CEC.