Headlines - 18.02.2014

Kosovo Assembly expected to be dismissed in May (Tribuna)

The agreement reached between the leaders of the two largest parties in Kosovo - Hashim Thaçi of PDK and Isa Mustafa of LDK - is expected to shorten the mandate of the Kosovo Assembly deputies by at least eight months. Sources of the newspaper inside the PDK announced that the Assembly is expected to be dismissed within three months. “The Assembly could be dismissed before May so that early elections take place by mid-June,” said the PDK official. 

Belgrade obstructs work of Liaison Office (Koha Ditore)

The Kosovo Liaison Office in Serbia has not yet managed to finalise logistical and operational arrangements, although it was set up months ago. Kosovo authorities had given assurances that the liaison officer in Belgrade would enjoy diplomatic status and basically do the work of an ambassador. However, not only has the work been unseen, but even the office itself it not up and running. Apart from the official stamp, bank account, and health insurance, staff also faces travel restrictions from Serbian authorities. The Kosovo Government has, to this end, sent a report to Brussels where it claims that all of the above are a result of the obstructions presented by authorities in Belgrade.

Elections legitimate even if influenced by 35 percent (Koha Ditore)

The law on general elections has been passed on to relevant institutions for comments. The law is reported to have undergone minor changes, mainly relating to the mandate of the chairperson and members of the Central Elections Commission (CEC).

Some of the proposals recommended are: inclusion of citizens to the voters’ list who reside in Kosovo, including a picture of the voter to the list and not counting ballots at polling stations. The changes also foresee the Elections Complaints and Appeals Panel to be entitled to cancel elections “if it considers that there is at least 35 percent influence on the final results.”

Hoxhaj in Romania for SEECP meeting (dailies)

Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj travelled to Romania, where he is expected to take part in the informal meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). Hoxhaj was invited to the meeting by his Romanian counterpart, Titus Corlatean, who currently chairs the organisation that promotes peace, stability and regional cooperation.

Last year’s SEECP meeting was supposed to take place in Ohrid, Macedonia, but was called off as a Kosovo representative was not invited, which led to other countries cancelling their attendance as a sign of solidarity.

Braathu calls for “small steps” in election reform (Koha Ditore)

The Norwegian Ambassador in Pristina, Jan Braathu, said that the international community would like election reform in Kosovo to be finalised before announcing of general elections, but presently he saw this to be impossible considering time constraints.

According to Braathu, British Ambassador Ian Cliff clarified the stance of Quint countries that “election reform could not likely be made before parliamentary elections this year; no matter what happens with the election reform, it is important that elections to be managed appropriately and to be prepared in best possible way.” According to Braathu, a big change cannot be expected in this regard. “I encourage political parties to attempt to do that what they can […] and later return to reviewing the big issues,” stated Ambassador Braathu.