In recent weeks alone, dozens of commissioners, as well as members of political parties, have been taken into custody on suspicion of voter fraud. Some for rigging during the counting and processing of votes, and others for giving and receiving bribes.
Data from the Kosovo Judicial Council shows that for people who have engaged in voter fraud, the punishment over the years has been very lenient.
Data on indictments filed in 2011 for violators of the law in relation to voting and elections show the following:
15 people ended up in prison, 11 were sentenced to probation, 1 person was sentenced to a fine, while in 8 other cases, 5 people were sentenced to a fine, while for 3 cases there is still no epilogue.
The indictments filed in 2012 for vote rigging did not send anyone to prison. 1 person was given a suspended sentence, while 28 cases have no final outcome, just as 5 indictments filed in 2013 were also concluded.
In 2014, according to KJC data, 5 people were sentenced to probation, while 3 cases remained without an epilogue.
The year 2015 brought many indictments but few punishments. 56 defendants for voter fraud never received punishment, because the cases remained without an epilogue. 15 other defendants were sentenced to probation, one person ended up behind bars, while in another case against 5 defendants, only 2 indictments were filed, which never received an epilogue from the Courts.
In 2016, there were only two indictments against two people, one was given a suspended sentence and the other remained in the court's files without an epilogue.
A year later, in 2017, according to KJC data, the 13 indictments filed by the Prosecutor's Offices ended up in the court's drawers again, without an epilogue.
Even the indictments filed in 2018 produced few convictions, out of 11 defendants in several cases, 10 were given suspended sentences, 9 other indictments never reached an epilogue, two were sentenced to a fine and one to a suspended sentence. 12 people were sent to prison.
63 indictments filed in 2019 produced 20 cases without an epilogue, 36 suspended sentences, 5 fines, and 5 prison sentences.
The indictments of 2020 also have almost the same average, 10 remained without an epilogue, in 3 cases the vote abusers were fined, 3 ended up in prison, while 26 others were given suspended sentences.
The year 2021 was busy for the Prosecution Offices, but 83 defendants never received punishment from the Courts, 88 were sentenced to probation, 7 people were fined, and 2 people ended up in prison.
Even in the following years, the situation is almost the same - more cases of suspended sentences and fewer with imprisonment, while the majority continued to be without an epilogue, according to KJC data.
According to this data, from 2011 to last year, 2025 - only 32 people ended up with prison sentences out of hundreds of indictments filed - but even of those, not all are final.
Chapter 18 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo, which lists criminal offenses against the right to vote, provides for sentences of 6 months to 5 years in prison.
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