Aqif Shehu

Aqif Shehu
Mayor of Gjakova
In office 2001–2007
Personal details
Born	Gjakova, FPR Yugoslavia (modern Kosovo)
Nationality	Kosovan Albanian Yugoslav (formerly)
Association football career Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1975–1979 Liria 117 (4) 1979–1980 Trepça 1 (0) 1980–1985 Vëllaznimi 116 (4 [1] ) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aqif Shehu is a former politician in Kosovo and former footballer. He was a member of the parallel Republic of Kosova assembly in the 1990s and served as mayor of Gjakova from 2001 to 2007. For most of his time as an elected official, Shehu was a member of Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK).

Politician

1990s parallel assembly

During the 1990s, most members of Kosovo's Albanian community boycotted Serbian state institutions and operated through parallel government structures. Shehu was elected to the parallel Albanian assembly in the 1992 general election as one of the representatives from Gjakova. During this period, the LDK was the dominant party within Kosovo's Albanian community. ^[2]

Mayor of Gjakova (2001–07)

Serbia lost effective control of most of Kosovo after the 1998–99 Kosovo War, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) organized new local elections for the province in late 2000. Shehu appeared in the lead position on the LDK's electoral list in Gjakova and was elected when the list won a majority victory with twenty-six out of forty-one seats. ^{[3] [4] [5]} The elections were marked by violence; a Gjakova rally by LDK leader Ibrahim Rugova was interrupted by gunshots and electrical sabotage, and Shehu reported that grenades were thrown at the homes of some LDK members. ^{[6] [7]} After the election, Shehu was chosen as mayor.

In November 2001, he signed an agreement making Gjakova a sister city of Jamestown, New York. ^[8]

Shehu appeared in the fourteenth position on the LDK's list in the 2001 Kosovan parliamentary election, which was held under closed list proportional representation, and was elected when the list won a plurality victory with forty-seven seats. ^[9] He appears to have declined his mandate to continue serving as mayor.

He again led the LDK's list for Gjakova in the 2002 local elections and was elected when the list won a plurality victory with seventeen seats. He was chosen afterward for a second term as mayor. ^{[10] [11]}

In August 2003, Shehu oversaw the burial of forty-three Albanians who had been killed in the Meja massacre during the Kosovo War. During the funeral, he said that the massacre had shaken the civilized world and called for the Serbian government to provide more information on missing Kosovars from the wartime period. ^[12] The following year, Shehu took part in negotiations to allow twenty Ashkali and Roma families displaced by the war to return to Gjakova. ^[13]

Shehu's last years as mayor were marked by controversy and political instability. The Gjakova municipal council voted to remove him from office in late 2005, but their decision was overturned by UNMIK. ^[14] The details of this situation do not appear to be available online, but there is evidence that several prominent LDK members in Gjakova turned against Shehu in this period. ^[15]

Kosovo introduced the direct election of mayors in 2007. Shehu ran for re-election as an independent candidate and fared poorly, finishing in eighth place with under two per cent of the vote. ^{[16] [17] [18]} He has not returned to political life since this time.

Electoral record

Local (Gjakova)

2007 Kosovan local elections: Mayor of Gjakova

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Pal Lekaj	Alliance for the Future of Kosovo	12,409	37.98	19,185	56.39
	Astrit Haraqija	Democratic League of Kosovo	7,789	23.84	14,836	43.61
	Teuta Sahatqija	ORA	3,723	11.39
	Besnik Bardhi	New Kosovo Alliance	3,481	10.65
	Besim Mehmeti	Democratic League of Dardania	2,465	7.54
	Agim Jaka	Democratic Party of Kosovo	1,012	3.10
	Mentor Rruka	Alternative for Gjakova	809	2.48
	Aqif Shehu (incumbent)	Aqif Shehu	571	1.75
	Marjan Oroshi	Democratic Christian Party for Integration	414	1.27
Total			32,673	100.00	34,021	100.00
Source: [19] [20] [21]

References

1. "Stats from Yugoslav First and Second League". zerodic (in Croatian).
2. "Kuvendi i Kosovës, si dukej në qershorin e vitit 1992", Illyria, 9 June 2017, accessed 11 March 2024.
3. Zgjedhjet për Kuvende Komunale 2000 – Fletëvotimet dhe listat e kandidatëve (Gjakovë – Lista e kandidatëve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 13 January 2022.
4. Zgjedhjet për Kuvende Komunale 2000 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Rezultatet e subjekteve sipas komunave), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 22 January 2022.
5. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDE KOMUNALE 2000 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Kandidatët e zgjedhur sipas subjekteve), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 22 January 2022.
6. "Moderate ethnic Albanian leader evacuated from electoral rally," Associated Press Newswire, 23 October 2000.
7. "Grenade attack against moderate Kosovo candidate," Associated Press Newswire, 23 October 2000.
8. "News in Brief," Buffalo News, 21 November 2001.
9. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVEND TË REPUBLIKËS SË KOSOVËS 2001 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Kandidatët e zgjedhur sipas Subjekteve Politike), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 12 January 2022.
10. ZGJEDHJET PËR KUVENDE KOMUNALE 2002 – Fletëvotimet dhe listat e kandidatëve (Gjakovë), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 18 January 2022.
11. Zgjedhjet për Kuvende Komunale 2002 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Rezultatet e subjekteve sipas komunave), Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 4 February 2022.
12. "Remains of 43 massacred ethnic Albanians buried in Kosovo," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 1 August 2003 (Source: HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1344 gmt 1 Aug 03).
13. "Local Kosovo officials agree to accept return of 20 ethnic minority families," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 20 August 2004 (Source: KosovaLive web site, Pristina, in Albanian 19 Aug 04).
14. "Kosovo UN chief annuls municipal council decision to dismiss mayor," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 6 November 2005 (Source: KosovaLive website, Pristina, in English 4 Nov 05).
15. Haki Latifi, "Njerëzit, si ish anëtari i kryesisë së LDK-së dhe ish Kryetari i Gjakovës z.Aqif Shehu, që ka bërë aq shumë për kombin e vet, nuk e merituan t'u organizohen kurthe e linçime" [opinion piece, Bota Sot, 31 August 2020, accessed 11 March 2024.
16. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Fletëvotimet (Raundi i parë) – Gjakovë, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 16 September 2023.
17. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Raundi i parê) – Rezultatet e kandidatëve për Kryetar Komune, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 2, accessed 14 January 2022.
18. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Raundi i dytë) – Rezultatet e kandidatëve për Kryetar Komune, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 2, accessed 14 January 2022.
19. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Fletëvotimet (Raundi i parë) – Gjakovë, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, accessed 16 September 2023.
20. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Raundi i parê) – Rezultatet e kandidatëve për Kryetar Komune, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 2, accessed 14 January 2022.
21. ZGJEDHJET PËR KRYETARË TË KOMUNAVE 2007 – Rezultatet dhe Statistikat (Raundi i dytë) – Rezultatet e kandidatëve për Kryetar Komune, Central Election Commission, Republic of Kosovo, p. 2, accessed 14 January 2022.