Haradinaj meets Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo
(KTV)
Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj on Thursday hosted Ambassador Jan Braathu, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
Haradinaj stressed that cooperation between the Government and the OSCE in Kosovo is in favour of strengthening the country’s democratic institutions and good governance, in the function of a society with equal opportunity for all citizens and communities.
From his side, Ambassador Braathu congratulated Prime Minister Haradinaj on his new position as well as on the energy and his great dedication to push forward Kosovo, assuring him that the cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo will continue, KTV portal reported.
CEC accredits about 22,000 local election observers
(KTV)
At the meeting of the Central Elections Commission (CEC), 21,754 observers for local elections have been accredited.
Observers of the EU Election Observation Mission are amongst the observers that have been accredited so far.
At the meeting, CEC also appointed polling station committee members in 38 Kosovo municipalities. They will work on the Election Day at 899 polling centres with 2,505 polling stations in total.
The number of envelopes sent to voters outside Kosovo is 10,476, which matches the number of successfully registered voters in the application period.
At the meeting it was reiterated that voter education remains a challenge for CEC.
Assembly sessions on 2 and 3 October
(RTK1 & KTV)
Following the Kosovo Assembly Presidency meeting, which took place on Thursday evening, the Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli announced that the Assembly session would resume on 2nd October, and two more sessions will be held on 3rd October.
At the first session on 3rd October, caucuses will be established. Subsequently, Prime Minister Haradinaj’s interpellation will take place, upon request of the LDK Caucus, in order to inform the Assembly about public allegations addressed against the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, Nenad Rikalo.
The second session will deal with ratification of IPA international agreement, on receiving 70.5 million euro.
Haradinaj: Either we find truth, or no agreement with Montenegro
(KTV)
Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, once again spoke about demarcation, in the framework of the election campaign in Podujevë/Podujevo on Thursday.
He assured local citizens that with his Government, Kosovo was moving towards a Euro-Atlantic prosperity. According to him, the Government is working to implement the Stabilisation-Association Agreement (SAA), as well as for visa liberalisation and demarcation. About the latter issue, which concerns border demarcation with Montenegro, Haradinaj stated that the borderline is in Çakorr.
“Kosovo cannot vote in favour of this version, this is true. Those of you, who are interested to check it, will find out that two thirds are not in favour of this version. It cannot be voted as it is,” Haradinaj said.
“The Committee members will find the truth. Either we will reach an agreement with Montenegro, or there will be no agreement. There cannot be a unilateral border agreement, an agreement is bilateral,” Haradinaj concluded.
Srpska List wants Association in line with 2013 Agreement
(KTV)
Establishment of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities continues to be the top priority of Srpska List, but it is also an obligation of Kosovo institutions, an obligation deriving from the dialogue with Serbia in Brussels, Srpska List representatives stated.
Igor Simic, MP and spokesperson of Srpska List, told Radio Free Europe that there is already good will for establishment of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities, not only within Srpska List, but also amongst the international community representatives in Kosovo.
Simic says that establishment of the Association will start soon, but no exact date for beginning of the process has been scheduled yet.
“It is a process that will take time, but what is important is that this is an obligation deriving from the agreement, and the agreement was not imposed but reached by negotiation teams. Any postponement of what they agreed upon is dishonest,” Simic said.
On the other hand, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj recently said that the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities would be established, but only in compliance with the Kosovo Constitution and the Constitutional Court’s decision.
On 23rd December 2015, the Kosovo Constitutional Court established that some of the general principles of the agreement on the Association, dated 25th August 2015, were not in compliance with the Kosovo Constitution, and that those principles must be in line with Constitutional standards of the Republic of Kosovo.
Simic says Srpska List will insist that establishment of the Association happens in accordance with the 2013 agreement.
“As a lawyer, I can tell you that the Kosovo Constitution says that agreements of an international character, as Kosovo is treating them, and that have been ratified by the Assembly, have a greater legal power than the Kosovo Constitution itself, let alone a Constitutional Court’s decision,” Simic said.
However, Randjel Nojkic, A Serb political expert and former MP in the Kosovo Assembly, talking to Radio Free Europe, says that the Brussels Agreement clearly states that the Association shall be established in line with Kosovo laws and its Constitution. According to him, the Agreement is also available on the website of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo.
But, according to Nojkic, the problem occurred due to different interpretations between what the Kosovo Constitutional Court and what Belgrade authorities and Srpska List says.
“The problem is that this fact is being ignored, while this fact is important and it may not be ignored. If these facts are as we are putting them, then Srpska List does not have much room for manipulation,” Nojkic said.
Nojkic thinks that contents of the agreement on establishment of the Association should be explained to the public, while Srpska List and Kosovo Government should sit and discuss remarks provided by the Constitutional Court on this matter.
