• Guterres: Long break in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue halted progress (media)
• Supreme Court orders CEC to count Diaspora ballots (media)
• Daka: There could be a total recount of votes (media)
• ECAP rejects NISMA's complaint regarding ballots from Serbia (media)
• Kurti and Osmani meet and discuss new government (media)
• Hoti: We agreed with LVV only on Prime Minister’s post (KTV)
• Kurti: Economic development that employs and integrates all (RTK)
• Djuric: Kurti to say publicly he doesn’t want to meet obligations for Serbs (Klan)
• “Idea of Presevo Valley’s unification with Kosovo is not dead” (RTK/Bota Sot)
• Astrit Dehari’s case to be investigated by Special Prosecution (media)
• EC and Kosovo sign agreement on fighting terrorism (media)
• Police special units launch operation in Mitrovica South and other locations (Indeksonline)

Guterres: Long break in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue halted progress (media)

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the long break in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina halted progress towards normalization of relation, which opened stability threat in this area.

In a new quarterly report on UNMIK’s work that will be discussed today at the UN Security Council, Guterres called for the establishment of the new government of Kosovo after the elections, in order for the dialogue with Belgrade to resume soon and remove any obstacle to the continuous dialogue.

In the report which covers the period from 16 May to 15 September, Guterres hailed the efforts which aim a greater involvement of broader segments of society in the political process in Kosovo, especially encouraging women and youth to get involved and to lead in the democratic government in Kosovo.

He said that trust building in Kosovo requires strengthening of the rule of law, as well as a reliable, independent, and impartial judiciary.

The UN Secretary General welcomed the efforts for ensuring that victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo have the right to compensation, but he said that the compensation process for the victims was not fully inclusive.

Guterres appealed on all relevant stakeholders to protect religious heritage of Kosovo and to make sure that worship places are safe, in order for all communities to practice their faith in peace.

He also called on the Kosovo institutions and international stakeholders to continue their full support and cooperation in the efforts for investigating crimes committed during the war in Kosovo, considering that it is essential for a peaceful future in Kosovo.

In the report, Guterres welcomed continuous efforts of the Working Group for Missing Persons as well as the planned amendment to the Law on Missing persons, saying that shedding light on whereabouts of missing persons in Kosovo is crucial for reaching long-term trust.

Guterres said he was disappointed by small contributions to the UN fund for supporting Ashkali, Egyptian, and Roma communities affected by led poisoning in Kosovo, and he called upon Member Countries, stakeholders and other organisations to contribute to this fund.

The UN Secretary General addressed a serious concern about detention of UNMIK members on 28th May and continuation of judicial proceedings against them by Kosovo authorities, and called on those authorities to ensure respecting the privileges and immunity of the UN members.

Supreme Court orders CEC to count Diaspora ballots (media)

Media report that the Supreme Court has overturned the decision of the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) not to count ballots from Diaspora which arrived to the Central Election Commission (CEC) following the expiration of deadline.

The Supreme Court approved Vetevendosje’s request to count almost 5,000 ballots which the party said have been mailed within the set deadline. The court has now ordered the CEC to count the ballots and noted that the voters, with no fault of their own, have been denied the right to express their preferences as guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights.

“The late delivery of these ballots does not affect their regularity and legality as on one hand these voters voted at the right time and through no fault of their own their ballots did not reach the CEC before election day, and on the other hand the process of ballot counting was ongoing and it would not affect the regularity of the counting process,” the Supreme Court said in the ruling.

Vetevendosje hailed the decision saying it expects the CEC to convene as soon as possible and decide on counting of these ballots.

Daka: There could be a total recount of votes (media)

Several news websites report that Kosovo’s Central Election Commission (CEC) President, Valdete Daka, said in an interview to RTK on Wednesday that the certification of the October 6 election results could last until December as a result of complaints by political parties and candidates. “I cannot make any predictions. I cannot say late November or early December. If there are complaints, we could go to a total recount. This form of complaints must be arranged like in other countries because the delay is really a heavy burden,” she said.

ECAP rejects NISMA's complaint regarding ballots from Serbia (media)

Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) has rejected the complaint presented by the NISMA-AKR-PD coalition requesting the Central Election Commission (CEC) to declare invalid ballots that arrived from Serbia. The justification behind the ECAP decision is that the NISMA-AKR-PD coalition filed the complaint after the expiration of the deadline.

Kurti and Osmani meet and discuss new government (media)

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti met yesterday deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Vjosa Osmani and discussed preparations for the formation of the new coalition government.

“Kosovo will emerge from the crisis and will prosper,” Kurti said after the meeting adding: “Our cooperation is our commitment. Good objectives and good work are our responsibilities to the citizens of the Republic and the state institutions.”

Hoti: We agreed with LVV only on Prime Minister’s post (KTV)

Avdullah Hoti, member of the negotiating group of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV), told the broadcaster that they agreed only on the post of the Prime Minister while all the other posts are on the table.

‘None of these political parties has a major advantage, the citizens did not give the mandate to LVV not LDK to create the government alone, but for the country to be led by the opposition and for these two entities to sit and draft almost balanced programs together, to balance their power in the future government. The citizens have decided this, we have only agreed on the post of the Prime Minister. All the rest is on the table,” Hoti said.

Kurti: Economic development that employs and integrates all (RTK)

Vetevendosje (VV) leader Albin Kurti said on Wednesday that the priority of the new government of Kosovo will be economic development that employs and integrates all without any differences.

Kurti and VV senior member Xhelal Svecla met on Wednesday with Elbert Krasniqi, leader of the Egyptian Party (IRDK) and his associates. Vetevendosje issued a press release saying the meeting focused on the election process and the certification of results that will pave way to the formation of new institutions and the importance of cooperation for a democratic state-building process that does not discriminate anyone and provides equal opportunities for all.

Kurti said the priorities of the new government will be economic development rule of law, namely investigations against organised crime and high-level corruption. “With new jobs, justice and policies that address inequalities in society, we will open new avenues of communication and cooperation between the citizens and communities living in Kosovo,” Kurti said.

Djuric: Kurti to say publicly he doesn’t want to meet obligations for Serbs (Klan)

Marko Djuric, Director of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, called on Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti to say it publicly that he does not want to implement Pristina’s obligations towards Serbs.

“If this is so, then we don’t have any obligations towards Pristina,” he said. “Let him say it loud and clear that the results of the Brussels dialogue do not oblige him, because both Kosovo people and the international community should know who destroyed every possibility of Belgrade and Pristina to resolve disagreement with a mutual agreement”.

“Idea of Presevo Valley’s unification with Kosovo is not dead” (RTK/Bota Sot)

Ragmi Mustafa, chairman of the Albanian Presevo Valley National Council, said that he expects a new government of Kosovo led by Albin Kurti to address the rights of Albanians in the Presevo Valley as a matter of priority and also underlined that the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue should also discuss the topic of Albanians in the Presevo Valley.

Mustafa reiterated that the best possible solution would be for the Valley to join Kosovo and said there is still hope for that.

Astrit Dehari’s case to be investigated by Special Prosecution (media)

Kosovo Chief Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi has decided to transfer the case concerning the death of Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari in a detention facility from the Basic Prosecution in Prizren to the jurisdiction of the Special Prosecution of Kosovo.

“Following a review of statements made to the media by the family of the deceased Astrit Dehari and their legal representatives, as well as the specific and urgent nature of the case, and in the function of criminal procedure’s efficiency and the avoiding of suspicions on the possible violation of the principle of impartiality, the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo is tasked with taking over further procedural treatment of this criminal case,” the Office of Chief Prosecutor said in a press release.

“The State Prosecutor would like to assure the Dehari family and the public opinion that based on constitution and legal competencies and authorisations, I will conduct independent, professional and credible investigations for fully resolving this case,” Lumezi said.

Tome Gashi, attorney for the family of Astrit Dehari, reacted to the announcement by the Kosovo Chief Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi to transfer the investigations into the Vetevendosje activist's death from the Basic Prosecution in Prizren to Special Prosecution of Kosovo. "Slowly but surely all those involved in any way in the killing of Astrit Dehari, by inciting the killing, or covering it up, will be criminally prosecuted. The case is no longer with the Prosecution in Prizren and the investigators that intentionally changed the course of investigation will no longer have access to the case relating to Vetevendosje Movement's activist, who was murdered for political reasons," Gashi wrote on Facebook.

EC and Kosovo sign agreement on fighting terrorism (media)

European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos signed an agreement with Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ekrem Mustafa for implementation of the Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism for the Western Balkans.

The arrangement identifies concrete priority actions, which the Kosovan authorities should take in the course of 2019 and 2020, and covers all five objectives of the Joint Action Plan which was endorsed by the EU and its Western Balkans partners in October 2018.

The authorities of Kosovo are to report biannually to the Commission on the state of implementation, including in terms of any difficulties they might be facing.

Police special units launch operation in Mitrovica South and other locations (Indeksonline)

Kosovo Police special units have carried out raids in Mitrovica South on Wednesday evening, the news website reports. A police spokesman confirmed the raids adding that he cannot reveal further details because of the ongoing operation. “A police operation is underway. We cannot disclose further details in order not to damage the process,” he said. Unnamed sources told the news website that the operation was aimed at cracking down on human trafficking and prostitution. The raids were reportedly carried out in Mitrovica South and in several other locations in Kosovo.