Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
An image has been published showing Sami Lushtaku, the mayor of Skenderaj Municipality, with an inscription claiming that he has been proposed as a candidate for president of the Republic of Kosovo by the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).
it CONTENT was published on Monday (January 19) on Facebook, by an account called "Change Began".
What is the truth?
Hibrid.info has not found that there is an official confirmed proposal that PDK has proposed Lushtaku as a candidate for the position of president.
The content has received over 1,400 likes and the same number of comments as of the time of writing.
Based on the content of the comments made on the post, it can be estimated that the audience is likely to perceive the claim as accurate.
Hibrid.info used the search engine “Google” to confirm the claim. After searching with the words “PDK proposes Sami Lustak for president of Kosovo", specifying the search for content published in the last seven days, the results shown showed that no credible source confirms anything like this (see here).
Another search using the words "pdk president" found articles reporting on a statement by Xhavit Haliti, a candidate for deputy from the PDK, who stated that the post of president should belong to the PDK (see here).
Because the claim is related to the PDK, hibrid.info has verified the official Facebook page of this political entity, checking the posts published in recent days. From the announcements found on this page, it turns out that there is no information that would substantiate the claim addressed (see here).
Also, on Sami Lushtaku's Facebook account, there are no posts that could prove that he claims or has been proposed to be a presidential candidate (see here).
Sami Lushtaku, as a PDK candidate, was elected mayor of Skenderaj in the first round of local elections, which were held on October 12, 2025 (see here).
The current president is Vjosa Osmani, who took office on April 4, 2021, when she was elected by the Assembly of Kosovo. The president's term of office is five years, which means that Osmani is nearing the end of her term (see here).
The election of the president shall take place no later than thirty days before the end of the term of the current president. The presidential candidate must obtain the signatures of at least thirty members of the Assembly of Kosovo. Members of the Assembly may only sign for one candidate for president of Kosovo (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that Sami Lushtaku has been proposed by PDK as a presidential candidate is not supported by any official or credible source.
The number of reactions to the post in question is considered a real possibility that the audience will perceive this claim as true.
However, verifications in media sources, on the official PDK website and on Lushtak's profile, show that such a proposal has not been made.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.