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Gjilan/Gnjilane
1. Area and Population
The municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane is located in southeastern Kosovo. It covers an area of approximately 385
km² and includes Gjilan/Gnjilane city and 42 villages.
The total population is approximately 90,000 (90,178
according to the Kosovo Population and Housing
Census 2011).
September 2015
MUNICIPAL PROFILE
The OSCE regional centre Gjilan/Gnjilane covers 11
municipalities including Gjilan/Gnjilane and has field
teams working in all of them.
Ethnic composition
1. Kosovo Albanians: 87,814
2. Kosovo Turks: 978
3. Kosovo Serbs: 624
4. Kosovo Roma: 361
5. Kosovo Bosnian: 121
6. Kosovo Gorani: 69
7. Kosovo Ashkali: 15
8. Kosovo Egyptian: 1
9. Others: 95
10. Not specified: 100
(Source: Kosovo Agency of Statistics)
Prior to the 1999 conflict, approximately 25,000 Kosovo
Serbs and 6,000 Kosovo Roma lived in Gjilan/Gnjilane
municipality. Despite some returns in the last ten years,
almost 22,000 Kosovo Serbs and over 5,000 Kosovo
Roma still remain displaced (source: municipal office for
communities and return).
2. Governing Structures and Political Overview
The total number of voters in Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality
registered for the last municipal elections held in
November 2013 was 95,530, including out-of-Kosovo
voters. The voter turnout was 51.6 per cent/49,265
voters (source: Central Election Commission).
a. Legislative
The municipal assembly has 35 seats distributed
amongst eleven (11) political entities; 33 members
are Kosovo Albanians; one (1) Kosovo Serb, one (1) is
Kosovo Turk. Thirteen (13) municipal assembly members
are female. The municipal assembly chairperson is
Valentina Bunjaku-Rexhepi (LDK).
According to the law on local self-government,
municipalities with more than ten (10) per cent of
residents belonging to communities not in majority in that
municipality is required to appoint a deputy municipal
assembly chairperson for communities. Although this is
not the case in Gjilan/Gnjilane, the municipal assembly
plans to appoint a deputy chairperson for communities in
a near future.
b. Executive
Structure of municipal executive and the executive’s
political affiliations
Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality is headed by the mayor Lutfi
Haziri (LDK), deputy mayor Rexhep Kadriu (AAK). It has
The election results were as follows:
LDK - Democratic League of Kosovo
31.35% 11 seats
PDK - Democratic Party of Kosovo
23.73% 8 seats
AAK-LDD - Alliance for the Future of Kosovo-LDD
11.12% 4 seats
LVV - Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination) Movement
9.91% 4 seats
AKR – Alliance New Kosovo
4.26% 2 seats
Civic Initiative Vatra Movement
3.58% 1 seat
PD - Justice Party
2.64% 1 seat
Republican Movement
2.47% 1 seat
For European Pomoravlje
2.02% 1 seat
PSD - Kosovo Socialdemocratic Party
1.77% 1 seat
KDTP - Kosovo Turkish Democratic Party
1.49% 1 seat
10 departments and department directors: education
(LDK); health and social welfare (PD); budget and finance
(LDK); urban and environmental protection (LDK);
general administration (AAK); public services (AAK);
agriculture and forestry (LDK); cadastre and geodesy
Gjilan/Gnjilane
(LDK); protection and rescue (LDK); and economy and
development (LDK). One (1) appointed director is female
(source: municipal website).
3. Judiciary
Gjilan/Gnjilane basic court has 20 judges, all Kosovo
Albanian; four (4) are female and 16 are male. It has
branches in Kamenicë/Kamenica with four (4) judges,
one female, three male, all Kosovo Albanian; Novo Brdo/
Novobërdë with one (1) Kosovo Albanian male judge;
and Viti/Vitina with eight (8) judges, one (1) female,
seven (7) male, all Kosovo Albanian and also covers
Klokot/Kllokot, Parteš/Partesh and Ranilug/Ranillug
municipalities (source: Gjilan/Gnjilane basic court).
Additional information:
Gjilan/Gnjilane basic prosecutor’s office has 15
prosecutors, all Kosovo Albanian; four (4) female and 11
male. In addition to Gjilan/Gnjilane it covers Kamenicë/
Kamenica, Klokot/Kllokot Novo Brdo/Novobërdë, Parteš/
Partesh, Ranilug/Ranillug and Viti/Vitina municipalities
(source: Gjilan/Gnjilane basic prosecutor’s office).
4. Security Presence
The Kosovo Police station in Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality
has 169 police officers; 143 Kosovo Albanians, 20
Kosovo Serbs and six (6) Kosovo Turks; ten (10) are
stationed in the police sub-station in Zhegër/Žegra
village. Forty two police officers are female.
The Kosovo Police regional directorate and specialized
regional units are located in Gjilan/Gnjilane city and
employ 152 officers; 135 Kosovo Albanians, 11 Kosovo
Serbs, three (3) Kosovo Turks, two (2) Kosovo Bosniaks
and one (1) Kosovo Montenegrin; 25 are female.
As for the international military presence, the United
States and Turkish KFOR cover the area (source: Kosovo
Police).
5. eCONOMY
The economy of the municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane
is mainly based on small businesses. There are over
3,400 registered private active businesses operating in
the municipality employing over 8,900 people (source:
municipal directorate of economy and development).
6. Public Services
a. Infrastructure
The overall status of infrastructure in the municipality of
Gjilan/Gnjilane is assessed as good.
All the main roads connecting major villages with the
urban centre are asphalted. Gjilan/Gnjilane city and
fourteen (14) out of 42 villages are connected to the
water supply system, while Gjilan/Gnjilane city and ten
(10) villages are connected to the sewage systems.
Power supply is no longer a problem (source: municipal
September 2015
MUNICIPAL PROFILE
directorate of public services).
b. Health
The primary health care system includes one (1) main
municipal family health centre, 13 municipal family health
centres and seven (7) health houses and one (1) mobile
health house. The municipal health sector has 282
employees (260 Kosovo Albanians, ten (10) Kosovo Serbs,
ten (10) Kosovo Turks, and one (1) Kosovo Roma and
one (1) other) (source: municipal directorate of health and
social welfare).
In addition Gjilan/Gnjilane also has a regional hospital
located in the city that employs 545 staff members: 537
Kosovo Albanians, four (4) Kosovo Turks, two (2) Kosovo
Serbs, one (1) Kosovo Bosniak and one (1) other.
Access:
All communities have access to health care and facilities.
However, many Kosovo Serbs travel to Gračanica/
Graçanicë and Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North municipality, or
out of Kosovo, for secondary health care services (source:
Personnel Office of Gjilan/Gnjilane Regional Hospital).
c. Education
There are 29 primary schools (25 following Kosovo
curriculum, 4 following Serbian curriculum) with 14,388
pupils (13,930 Kosovo Albanians; 302 Kosovo Serbs;
108 Kosovo Roma and 48 Kosovo Turks) and 1,053
teachers (972 Kosovo Albanians; 55 Kosovo Serbs; five (5)
Kosovo Roma and 21 Kosovo Turks); nine (9) secondary
schools (7 following Kosovo curriculum, two (2) following
Serbian curriculum) with 5,566 students (5,343 Kosovo
Albanians; 176 Kosovo Serbs; 20 Kosovo Roma and 27
Kosovo Turks) and 434 teachers (416 Kosovo Albanians,
15 Kosovo Serbs and three (3) Kosovo Turks); and four
(4) preschools (three (3) with primarily Kosovo Albanians
in city and one (1) with primarily Kosovo Serbs in Šilovo/
Shillovë village) financed by Kosovo government with 366
pupils (333 Kosovo Albanians and 33 Kosovo Serb), with
38 teachers (35 Kosovo Albanians and three (3) Kosovo
Serbs). A public university and two (2) private colleges
are also based in Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality (source:
municipal directorate of education).
7. Religious and Cultural Sites
There are 41 mosques in Gjilan/Gnjilane. Approximately
20 mosques were renovated after the 1999 conflict
and one (1) of 41 is not in use. There are eight (8)
Orthodox churches in Gjilan/Gnjilane. Two (2) were
destroyed following the 1999 conflict and are not in use.
One (1) was damaged after the 1999 conflict but was
immediately renovated and has since been in use. The
remaining five churches were not damaged and are in
use (source: representatives of religious communities).
Gjilan/Gnjilane
to know
In Gjilan/Gnjilane there are:
35
seats in the municipal assembly distributed amongst 11
political entities.
317
police officers.
20
judges.
1,525
teachers in 29 primary and 9 secondary schools and 4
preschools.
September 2015
MUNICIPAL PROFILE