Headlines - 12.05.2017

• Official: Early parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 11 June (dailies)
• CEC: Election campaign to last ten days (Koha Ditore)
• Delawie: Corrupt people to stay out of election ballots (RTK)
• UN concerned with obstacles in Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (RTK)
• Ferati: No more with PDK (Epoka e Re)
• Lunacek: Establish a good government, deal with serious issues (RFE, Zëri)
• Serbia concerned about elections in Kosovo (Zëri) 

Kosovo Media Highlights

Official: Early parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 11 June (dailies)

Papers report that President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci has announced 11 June as the date for early parliamentary elections. In a Facebook post, Thaci said he announced the election date following consultations with political parties and the Central Elections Commission (CEC). He called on relevant Kosovo institutions to be at the service of the citizens and urged political parties to demonstrate maturity and “prove yet again that Kosovo remains an example for the region in organising free and democratic elections”.

CEC: Election campaign to last ten days (Koha Ditore)

The Central Elections Commission (CEC) decided in its meeting yesterday to allocate €5 million for organizing the 11 June parliamentary elections and to limit the election campaign to ten days beginning on 31 May to 9 June. Head of the CEC, Valdete Daka, called on political parties to respect all relevant legislation and timeframes.

Delawie: Corrupt people to stay out of election ballots (RTK)

U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said in an interview to RTK that it was regretful that political leaders were unable to sort out their differences and continue working on the behalf of the people of Kosovo. “I think it is important to recognize that the world is not going to stay still while Kosovo figures itself out. So, I certainly hope everyone moves through this process as quickly as possible so that the new officials are elected and appointed to begin working together on behalf of Kosovo citizens,” Delawie said. He called on political parties to pay attention as to what kind of people they include in the election ballots and whether those people reflect the gender, the ethnic, the age diversity of Kosovo’s citizens and whether they are tainted with corruption or not. Speaking about the border demarcation issue, Delawie noted that this was something that was not going to go away and it will be up to the future government to pick up where the last one left off.

UN concerned with obstacles in Pristina-Belgrade dialogue (RTK)

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his quarterly report on Kosovo that the latest events did little to ease the strained relations between Belgrade and Pristina. The UN chief said no specific steps have been undertaken towards the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and expressed concern over the prevalence of obstacles inhibiting progress in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and in the implementation of the agreements reached within the framework of the dialogue.

Ferati: No more with PDK (Epoka e Re)

Member of the General Council of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Sadri Ferati, said that his party would not co-govern with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) in the next mandate. Ferati said in the interview that LDK would accept to stay in opposition if it does not manage to be the first one in the elections, but not to cooperate with PDK anymore. According to Ferati, bringing down the government was not related to the governance but to the fact that it suited PDK to hold elections in June. He also accused PDK for not being clear in explaining that they would vote for the no-confidence motion.

Lunacek: Establish a good government, deal with serious issues (RFE, Zëri)

Ulrike Lunacek, Rapporteur for Kosovo at the European Parliament, appealed to Kosovo politicians not to forget major issues such as European integration. “I regret that liberalisation of visas did not happen, because it concerns Kosovo citizens. It did not happen because demarcation of the border was not voted. I tried to urge coalition government parties as well as those in opposition, but they did not do it. I hope that the next government would do it. I hope that the next government will have majority in Parliament and fulfill promises made so far,” Lunacek said. She appealed on Kosovo politicians to develop a “serious election campaign for the sake of the citizens.” “Fulfill your duties, establish a good government, with a good majority at the Assembly and deal with serious matters,” Lunacek said.

Serbia concerned about elections in Kosovo (Zëri)

Serbia’s Minister of Interior, Nebojsa Stefanovic, said that with the Kosovo government down, it will be impossible for Pristina to implement Brussels agreement on the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. “We are seeking a technical reason for this battle. It could be delayed a week, a month, but the momentum will come. The government of Serbia will insist on respect of Kosovo Serbs’ rights and the Brussels Agreement for Association will happen no matter on what grounds,” he said. He said that there is no compromise on the matter and that if international community does not pressure Pristina, then they would once again prove their hypocrisy in relation to Serbs and Serbia,” Stefanovic said.