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Kosova

VOA: Concerns about the elections for mayors of municipalities in the north of Kosovo

Politiko 2023-04-07 19:21:23

VOA: Concerns about the elections for mayors of municipalities in the north of

The authorities in Kosovo are continuing the preparations for the holding of the elections for the mayors of the four municipalities in the north inhabited by Serbian majority, set for April 23 amid doubts about their course.

The positions of the mayors remained vacant in November last year when Serbian representatives in the area resigned from their jobs amid tensions due to disagreements with a decision by the government in Pristina to re-register cars with Serbian license plates to those of the Republic of Kosovo. .

Lista Serbe, the main political entity of Kosovo Serbs, refuses to participate in the elections, claiming that their demands for the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and the removal of special police units from northern Kosovo have not been met.

Representatives of this subject met today in Belgrade with the president of Serbia, Aleksandër Vučić, to discuss the security situation, car license plates, the arrests of Serbs and the holding of elections in the north of Kosovo.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said that discussions will continue over the next seven days to draw up a common platform, while the elections organized by Pristina said that they are being held for two percent of the population, referring to the percentage of Albanians living in Mitrovica. of the North.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that the institutions of the country have been put at the service of the Central Election Commission to organize the elections in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo.

"Political pluralism and, above all, the right to vote freely and unhindered in the Serbian community are essential. Anyone who continues to violate this fundamental right has nothing to expect other than the response of our institutions with the force of the law," he said.

The embassies of the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in Pristina, earlier expressed their regret for the decision of the Serbian List, not to participate in the elections, while stressing that it is essential to ensure that the elections are held peacefully and regular and parties to exercise restraint and avoid violence, which could disrupt the elections.

Grupi i organizatave për vëzhgimin e zgjedhjeve “Demokracia në Veprim” tha se rrethanat aktuale nuk mundësojnë mbajtën e zgjedhjeve të lira dhe të drejta në veriun e vendit. Kjo organizatë tha përmes një komunikate “se situata e sigurisë në katër komunat veriore vijon të jetë e brishtë. Dorëheqjet e zyrtarëve policorë serbë në ato komuna, paraqesin pengesë të madhe në garantimin e sigurisë, veçanërisht gjatë procesit zgjedhor, që është parakusht thelbësor për zgjedhje të lira dhe të drejta”.

The elections for the mayors of the northern municipalities, North Mitrovica, Zveçan, Leposaviq and Zubin Potok were originally scheduled for December 18 of last year but they were postponed at the request of Western diplomats who were involved in an effort for a normalization agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, for which the parties agreed on March 18 in Ohrid./VOA