Arsim Rexhepi

Arsim Rexhepi (born 20 May 1972) is a politician in Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1] He served in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo from 2008 to 2010, initially as a member of the New Kosovo Alliance (Aleanca Kosova e Re, AKR) and later with the Democratic League of Kosovo (Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës, LDK). He is now a member of Vetëvendosje.

Early life and career

Rexhepi was born in Vushtrri, in what was then the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo in the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[1] Raised in Vushtrri, he studied at the Faculty of Albanian Architecture and Literature at the University of Pristina (presumably in this context referring to the parallel institution that operated in the 1990s), and took doctoral studies at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. He has published widely in his field.[2] Until 2021, Rexhepi taught German, Philosophy and Social Studies at the Montessori Gesamtschule in Sendenhorst, Germany.[3]

Politician

Rexhepi became a vice-president of the AKR in 2006[4] and appeared on the party's electoral list in the 2007 Kosovan parliamentary election, which was held under open list proportional representation.[5] He finished in seventh place and was elected when the list won thirteen mandates.[6] The party served in opposition when the assembly convened in January 2008.

He left the AKR later in 2008 and initially sat as an independent.[7] He joined the LDK, which was part of Kosovo's coalition government, the following year. In the assembly, Rexhepi was the chair of the committee on education, science, technology, culture, youth, and sports.[8] He was also the chair of Kosovo's assembly friendship group with Germany.[9] In 2009, he was identified as one of the most active members of the legislature.[10]

In 2009, Rexhepi introduced a motion to investigate the finances of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK). The motion was not approved by the assembly.[11] He was not a candidate in the 2010 assembly election.

Rexhepi joined Vetëvendosje in October 2018.[12] He was included on the party's list in the 2019 assembly election but received the fewest votes of any party candidate and was not elected.[13][14] He was later the party's candidate for mayor of Vushtrri in the 2021 Serbian local elections and finished third.

Electoral record

Local
2021 Municipality of Vushtrri local election
Mayor of Vushtrri[15]
Candidate Party Votes  % Votes  %
Ferit Idrizi Democratic Party of Kosovo 10,247 34.81 13,414 53.19
Xhafer Tahiri (incumbent) Democratic League of Kosovo 9,956 33.82 11,806 46.81
Arsim Rexhepi Lëvizja Vetëvendosje! 7,667 26.04
Ademi Mensut Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 565 1.92
Ergin Sunguri Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo 436 1.48
Albert Maxhuni Social Democratic Initiative 322 1.09
Jeton Salihu Jeton Salihu 245 0.83
Total valid votes 29,438 100 25,220 100

Notes
  1. The political status of Kosovo is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo is formally recognised as a sovereign state by 101 UN member states (with another 13 states recognising it at some point but then withdrawing their recognition) and 92 states not recognizing it, while Serbia continues to claim it as a part of its own territory.

References
  1. Lista e deputetëve të Kuvendit të Kosovës: Periudha e tretë Legjislative (13.12.2007 - 03.11.2010 – Arsim Rexhepi), Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 15 January 2022. Rexhepi's party biography shows that he was born in Vushtrri. The assembly source is taken as more reliable.
  2. Arsim Rexhepi, Vetëvendosje, accessed 15 January 2022.
  3. ,Westfälische Nachrichten, accessed 25 August 2022.
  4. Lista e deputetëve të Kuvendit të Kosovës: Periudha e tretë Legjislative (13.12.2007 - 03.11.2010 – Arsim Rexhepi), Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 15 January 2022.
  5. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDIN E KOSOVËS 2007 – LISTAT E KANDIDATËVE TË SUBJEKTEVE POLITIKE, Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve, p. 13. He was given the seventh position on the list.
  6. ZGJEDHJET 2007 – REZULTATET E ZGJEDHJEVE TË QNR-SË, Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve, p. 12.
  7. "Kosovo's LDK, PDK deputies deny planning to join Haradinaj's party," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 15 April 2008 (Source: Text of report by Kosovo-Albanian privately-owned newspaper Express, on 10 April).
  8. Periudha e tretë Legjislative (13.12.2007 - 03.11.2010), Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 14 January 2022.
  9. Lista e deputetëve të Kuvendit të Kosovës: Periudha e tretë Legjislative (13.12.2007 - 03.11.2010 – Arsim Rexhepi), Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, accessed 15 January 2022.
  10. "Report accuses Kosovo parliament of irregularities, lack of debate," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 August 2009 (Source: Text of report in English by Pristina-based independent internet news agency KosovaLive).
  11. "Kosovo assembly rejects request for creation of investigative commission on RTK," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 3 November 2009 (Source: Text of report in English by Pristina-based independent internet news agency KosovaLive).
  12. "Vetëvendosjes i bashkohet edhe një anëtar i ri, Arsim Rexhepi", Balkani Info, 22 October 2018, accessed 15 January 2022.
  13. ZGJEDHJET E PARAKOHSHME PËR KUVENDIN E REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2019 – Lista e kandidatëve të subjekteve politike, Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve, p. 23. He appeared in the eighty-fifth position on the list.
  14. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDIN E KOSOVËS 2019 – REZULTATET PËRFUNDIMTARE KONAČNI REZULTATI, Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve, pp. 24-27.
  15. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2021 – Rezultatet e Statistikat, Komisioni Qendror i Zgjedhjeve, accessed 12 January 2022.
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