Constitutional Court

KI157/17, Applicant: Shaip Surdulli, Constitutional review of Decision ZL Anr. 1119/2017 of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel, of 1 December 2017

KI157/17, Resolution on Inadmissibility of 15 May 2018, published on 6 June 2018.

Keywords: Individual referral, manifestly ill-founded

The Applicant submitted the Referral to the Court, by which he requested the constitutional review of the Decision of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP).

The Applicant was a candidate of the Democratic League of Kosovo (hereinafter: LDK) for the President of the Municipality of Kamenica in the local elections of the Republic of Kosovo.

The Applicant alleged that the challenged decision of the ECAP violated his “ [right] [of] individual freedom guaranteed by the Constitution” because, according to him, the Central Election Commission (CEC),  certified the candidacy of Mr. Qendron Kastrati for the President of Municipality of Kamenica in contradiction with  Article 9 of Law No. 03/L-072  on Local Elections in the Republic of Kosovo. In addition, the Applicant in his Referral did not accurately clarify what right guaranteed by the Constitution has been violated.

The Court notes that the ECAP rejected the Applicant’s appeal for procedural reasons and did not review the Applicant’s allegations specified in his appeal with the ECAP, as the ECAP dismissed the appeal as out of time.

Accordingly, the Court concluded that the Applicant did specify at all what fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution have been violated, as a result of the abovementioned ECAP Decision, in accordance with Article 48 of the Law and, moreover, he did not substantiate his allegations that the proceedings before the ECAP was unfair or arbitrary. Therefore, the Court declared the Applicant’s Referral inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded on constitutional basis.