So that elections for the Serbian parliament can take place in Kosovo, an agreement needs to be reached between Belgrade and Pristina, through mediation of the EU and Washington, says Bojan Klacar from the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID), and added that it is expected that the OSCE will organize the technical side of the elections, as was the case in 2014.
Klacar said to Tanjug agency that this means that the elections will be organized in a smaller number of polling stations than if they were organized by Serbia, in settlements with sufficient numbers of Serbs to take part in the elections and where safety of voters can be provided without provoking the Albanian community. “The turnout, that is, percentage of people who voted, was not big and the last elections showed that it did not have a significant influence on the election results, however people should be empowered to vote in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Klačar.
He stressed that the election process is organized differently from the rest of Serbia and that observers, along with those from the CESID, are not allowed to be present during the voting. Following the closure of the polling stations, election material is transported to Serbia by the OSCE where votes are counted.
When asked how to interpret Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s statement that elections would be organized in line with Kosovo laws, Klacar said that this is not a definitive decision but only the start of negotiations on how to organize the elections, during which both Belgrade and Pristina will present maximal requests.
“Negotiations on elections to be held within the next month or two will be intensive and will involve Belgrade and Pristina, but Brussels and Washington too, in order to find common ground on how to organize the elections through the OSCE,” said Klacar.
