OMBUDSPERSON INSTITUTION in KOSOVO
Report
Ex officio Investigation 10. 19/01
Regarding the removal of
Emrush Xhemajli, Gafurr Elshani and Sabit Gashi
from the List of Candidates for the November 2001 Elections
The Ombudsperson for Kosovo, pursuant to Sections 4.4 and 4.9 of UNMIK Regulation No. 2000/38on the Establishment of the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo and Rules 18 and 21 of the Rules of Procedure of the Ombudsperson Institution, on 29 October 2001,
has presented the following Report to Mr. Hans Haekkerup, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, within the meaning of those provisions:
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE OMBUDSPERSON 1. On 24 September 2001, the Ombudsperson was informed about the cases of Mr. Emrush Xhemajli and Mr. Gafurr Elshani, who are respectively President and Vice-president of the Peoples' Movement of Kosovo (hereinafter PMK) and Mr. Sabit Hajdin Gashi, Vice-president of the National Movement for Liberation of Kosovo (hereinafter NMLK). According to the information received by the Ombudsperson, all of these persons were removed from the candidates lists of their respective political parties for the Kosovo Assembly elections to take place on 17 November 2001. The names apparently were removed from the lists on the bases of one or more Executive Orders issued by Mr. Hans Haekkerup, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (hereinafter the SRSG), to the Central Election Commission. [Throughout this Report, Mr. Emrush Xhemajli, Mr. Gafurr Elshani and Mr. Sabit Hajdin Gashi will be referred to as ‘the three individuals’ or ‘the individuals affected’.]
2. On 8 October 2001, the Ombudsperson opened an ex officio investigation regarding the case, which was registered under ex officio Registration No. 19/01.
AS TO THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE The facts of the case,
The facts of the case, in so far as they can be ascertained, may be summarized as follows:
A. In the case of Mr. Emrush Xhemajli and Mr. Gafurr Elshani:
3. In summer 2001, several newspapers in Kosovo published a list of persons considered to be ‘undesirable’ by the Government of the United States, which became known as the "George Bush list"or the "black list". The names of Mr. Emrush Xhemajli and Mr. Gafurr Elshani appeared on the list.
4. On 10 September 2001, the People's Movement of Kosovo (PMK) presented its electoral list to the Central Elections Commission in Kosovo. The names of Mr. Emrush Xhemajli and Mr. Gafurr Elshani were included on this list as candidates for election to the Kosovo Assembly.
