18 November 2021

Yesterday night, the parliamentary committee on the election of the Board of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) concluded its work. Out of 127 applicants, the committee shortlisted 18 candidates, eight of whom will now be appointed by the Assembly’s plenary.

“We commend the outcome of this process,” said Laurens Hueting, ECPMF’s Senior Advocacy Officer. “The selection was thorough and based on merit, which is reflected in an excellent shortlist with qualified candidates of high moral standing who are not politically affiliated.”

This was the biggest ever recruitment organised by the Parliament.

“The shortlisted experts come from diverse backgrounds. Importantly, the committee has put forward an equal number of women and men, improving on the minimum requirements regarding gender balance set by law,” added ECPMF’s Senior Legal Advisor Flutura Kusari, who has monitored the process. “Much remains to be done to depoliticise the RTK, but these latest developments inspire hope for the future.”

In July, the Assembly of Kosovo voted to dismiss all members of the RTK Board, following allegations of corruption and nepotism and the Board’s failure to comply with procurement procedures and compile a mandated long-term strategy.

Public service media play an important role in upholding the right to freedom of expression, enabling people to seek and receive information, and promoting democracy, diversity and social cohesion. To this effect, European standards call for external governance arrangements that guarantee the independence and sustainable development of public service media and set out criteria for well-functioning internal governance systems based on independence, accountability, effective management, transparency and openness as well as responsiveness and responsibility.