Fate of elections in the north to be discussed in Brussels (Koha/Tribuna)
Koha Ditore reports on the front page that Brussels has positively assessed Sunday’s local elections, with the exception of incidents in the northern part of Kosovo. EU officials however did not want to comment on the fate of ballots in the north or who is responsible for the incidents there. Both reporters and EU diplomats express concern on how such attacks were allowed at polling stations, especially after several weeks of warnings that provocations and violence in northern Kosovo would not be tolerated. 

Waiting for the outcome of investigations and refusing to prejudge who is responsible for the incidents, some EU diplomats in Brussels are pointing fingers mostly at Kosovo Police, whose primary task was to safeguard polling stations and maintain order during the election process. 

Meanwhile, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton congratulated voters in Kosovo for participating in local elections. Ashton confirmed that she would host another meeting in Brussels between Kosovo and Serbia prime ministers, Hashim Thaci and Dacic. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will also attend the meeting. “We will be discussing further steps in the election process, and future steps in the implementation of the April agreement,” Ashton said. 

Under the front-page headline Revote in the north, Tribuna cites unnamed sources as saying that at least two powerful member states of the European Union have called on Baroness Catherine Ashton to reprimand Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic for his destructive role during the November 3 local elections in Kosovo.

Dacic says he will request annulment of elections in the north (Koha)
Serbia’s Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, stated that declaring of the elections in the north of Kosovo as invalid, will be one of the issues to be discussed in Brussels. “One of the issues to be discussed at the meeting with Ashton and Thaçi, will be announcement of the election in the north of Kosovo as well as in all the other places where it was impossible for Serbs to vote, and where they were intimidated, as invalid.” Said Dacic. He said that they will also discuss establishment of the Association of Serb municipalities. 

Elections in the north could be repeated (Koha)
Oliver Ivanovic, candidate for mayor of northern Mitrovica, told the paper that organizing a revote at the same time with run-off elections cannot be done in such a short period of time. Ivanovic said the situation in northern Kosovo is still tense and that this prevents the process from taking place. 

Meanwhile, the Central Election Committee (CEC) insists that an eventual revote in the north would be held on the same day as run-off elections, on December 1^st. 

Kosovo Serb political representatives on the other hand insist on a revote in northern Mitrovica, “because the process did not start well from the beginning”. 

Judah: The north, new reality (Zëri)
Zëri reports that the journalist and analyst, Tim Judah, evaluates the elections as progress for Kosovo, while the situation in the north says that it has been created as a result of a pressure that has citizens during the campaign and in the Election Day. The masks in the north are not surprising. Actual circumstances in Kosovo and the latest changes in northern part of Mitrovica, where official Pristina organized elections in that part of Kosovo have confused population there, evaluates expert of Balkan issues at the same time journalist of The Economist, Tim Judah.

Crisis unites PDK and AAK (Tribuna)
The paper reports on the front page that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) have started forging coalitions in order to save one another from inconvenient situations. The PDK aims to use AAK’s support in passing the report on PTK privatization and the 2014 budget law in parliament. In return, the AAK expects support from the PDK where its candidates will go to run-off elections, especially in the cities of Gjakova, Peja and Suhareka. 

EU: Kosovo neither a state nor a republic (Zeri)
Zeri reports on the front page that the European Union has advised its 100 monitors involved in the November local elections that in their meetings with interlocutors they should avoid referring to Kosovo as a state or a republic, but only as a territory. 

Commenting on the issue, Mazllum Baraliu, former chairman of the Central Election Committee (CEC), said such an approach by the European Union toward Kosovo institutions is insulting and denigrating. “Such an approach is not only unacceptable, but also insulting and denigrating. The election process was organized according to Kosovo laws,” Baraliu said.

EU: RTK close to PDK (Tribuna)
A report by EU monitors of local elections in Kosovo notes that the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) in its programs has shown preferences in the presentation of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), especially its leader Hashim Thaci. The report also notes that the other two national broadcasters RTV21 and KTV had more balanced programs. EU experts also said that KTV and RTV21 broadcast analytical programs and high quality debates. 

Hoxhaj values British support for Kosovo (Epoka e Re)
Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Enver Hoxhaj, met with the head of the Desk for Kosovo at the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom, Dashiell Caldwell, and the Ambassador of this country in Kosovo, Ian Cliff. Caldwell praised the progress reached in Kosovo, and expressed further support for Kosovo. During the meeting, they also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries for 2014 and increase of British investments in Kosovo. Hoxhaj requested continuance of Great Britain’s support on Kosovo’s membership at international organizations. 

Çitaku requests reciprocity for official’s visits with Serbia (Koha)
Kosovo’s European Integration Minister Vlora Çitaku said on Tuesday that Albanians who live in the southern part of Serbia are most discriminated community in all of Europe. Çitaku said she got this impression from her recent visit to Presevo Valley. She called on her government colleagues to submit requests for visiting Presevo, Medvegja and Bujanovc, in order to see the situation up-close and to see they can help. Çitaku also said that if Belgrade does not approve the visits, the Kosovo Government should respond in same fashion. 

Tahiri to participate in UN conference (Lajm)
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Edita Tahiri, has been invited by UN Women to travel to the U.S. where she will take part in an international conference of the United Nations. The conference is aimed at evaluating progress in the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 for empowering women in decision-making, peace and security processes. Tahiri will participate in the conference in the capacity of chairwoman of the Regional Women Lobby for South-East Europe. 

Kosovo accepts homosexual parade (Zëri)
Even though a parade of homosexuals would be considered a reason more towards European integrations, Urlike Lunacek, creator of the gay, lesbian, transvestite and bisexual community in the European Parliament, says that the state and GLTB community, are not ready for a gay parade. “ I do not think that that Kosovo has an emergent need to hold a homosexual parade. I think that it is better to prepare terrain by creating a safe and socially open environment on the issue. A stronger cooperation between public authorities and organization which deal with these issues, would also be good,” said Lunacek.