• LVV, LDK working groups discuss modalities of new government (media)
• Ballots from Serbia processed for counting (Zeri)
• Four members of CEC demand urgent meeting (Kosovapress/RTK)
• Vetevendosje reacts to CEC’s decision to count ballots from Serbia (media)
• Mustafa calls on CEC to verify legality of ballots from Serbia (media)
• Pacolli: Why are Serbia ballots more precious than Diaspora ones? (Bota Sot)
• Limaj: NISMA has 5.5% of votes, votes from Serbia shouldn’t be counted (Koha)
• Palmer: This will be first government that won’t have party from KLA (media)
• U.S. and Russia want a compromise solution on Kosovo (Klan Kosova)
• Kosovo leaders welcome U.S. resolution on killing of Bytyqi brothers (media)
• Serbian official, Kozarev, not permitted to enter Kosovo (media)
• Kelmendi: Losers and winners (Koha)

LVV, LDK working groups discuss modalities of new government (media)

Working groups from the Vetevendosje Movement (LVV) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) held their second meeting yesterday focused on the modalities of the new government, media report.

Representatives of the two parties said after the meeting that they specifically discussed reducing the size of the government into 12 ministries but did not address the issue as to who will lead them.

“Alike the first time, the meeting took place in a very positive atmosphere and in approximating positions of the two political parties. We agreed on the agenda of meetings for the two coming weeks. This will be aimed at streamlining discussions towards important issues like economic development, education, health, rule of law, and foreign policy. In particular we discussed the format of the government, how the 12 ministries will look like and how these will be fused in the first days,” Lumir Abdixhiku said.

He also told reporters that the plan foresees merging the foreign affairs ministry, that of diaspora, and the one on European integration into a single ministry titled the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

With regards to dialogue with Serbia, Abdixhiku said the issue will be discussed at a higher level, between parties' leaders Albin Kurti and Isa Mustafa. The next meeting has been scheduled for Monday and these will take place every third day.

Ballots from Serbia processed for counting (Zeri)

Wearing decontamination suits, officials from the Central Election Commission (CEC) began yesterday the verification of ballots that arrived from Serbia after they were sealed in a room more than a week ago on suspicion of being contaminated.

In a statement, CEC said that following the verification process, it was concluded there is no danger of processing the ballots for counting.

“Despite complications faced during this process, the CEC is committed to preserve the integrity of the election process, the safety of operating officials and also the process of resolving this case. The CEC thanks relevant authorities for the cooperation during this period,” the statement reads.

On 13 October, a dozen CEC officials were admitted to hospital after complaining of allergic reaction when opening the boxes with ballots sent from Serbia. The officials have in the meantime been discharged from hospital and the samples of the ballots sent for lab tests to a European country. CEC said the prosecution and the police are continuing investigations.

Four members of CEC demand urgent meeting (Kosovapress/RTK)

Four members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) have demanded an urgent meeting following the decision to count ballots that have arrived from Serbia. The officials are demanding the CEC halts the counting process of ballots which they say arrived unlawfully from Serbia.

Vetevendosje reacts to CEC’s decision to count ballots from Serbia (media)

Vetevendosje Movement has reacted to the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to count ballots that arrived from Serbia.

“For more than ten days the entire public opinion is carefully following the failure of the Central Election Commission to act in treating the ballots from Diaspora. In particular of those which at the moment are not being processed under the justification that they arrived after the deadline although they were mailed by fellow-countrymen many days before the election date. Today, we also witnessed entirely unnormal scenes in the counting of ballots that arrived irregularly from Serbia which caused problems to the health of the officials of the Central Election Commission,” Vetevendosje said in a statement.

The party said that it is unacceptable for the CEC to proceed with counting of ballots from Serbia without waiting for the results of the lab tests and the outcome of Kosovo police investigation.

Mustafa calls on CEC to verify legality of ballots from Serbia (media)

Leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Isa Mustafa called on the Central Election Commission to verify the legality of the ballots that arrived from Serbia in support of the Serbian List.

“Announcement that these votes will be processed for counting, without a decision of the CEC as to whether they meet legal requirement, paves way for legalisation of ballot smuggling in the future. Such a thing was attempted to be carried out in the past local elections in Istog but legal authorities prevented such scenarios that deform the political will of the citizens of Kosovo. No unlawful vote should be allowed in Kosovo,” Mustafa wrote on Facebook.

Pacolli: Why are Serbia ballots more precious than Diaspora ones? (Bota Sot)

Leader of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) Behgjet Pacolli has reacted to the decision of the Central Election Commission to count ballots that have arrived from Serbia by being delivered at a post office in Pristina while the members of the Kosovo Diaspora were specifically instructed that their ballots should be mailed from their residence addresses and not directly to Kosovo post offices.

“It is terribly concerning to hear today that the ballots of Serbs are being considered to be accepted in the same way ours were rejected and this constitutes a violation of the constitutional principle of the equality of the vote. Those ballots have been delivered at the Kosovo post in the Dardania neighbourhood of Pristina personally by a Serbian state official. I am asking two questions: Why are not political parties reacting to this scandal and why are the votes of Serb citizens more precious than those of our Diaspora,” Pacolli wrote on Facebook.

Limaj: NISMA has 5.5% of votes, votes from Serbia shouldn’t be counted (Koha)

Fatmir Limaj, leader of the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA), said on Wednesday that the NISMA – AKR – PD coalition has won 5.5 percent of votes in the snap parliamentary elections, the paper reports on page three. Limaj told reporters that after a vote recount in several polling stations their coalition will be part of the new Assembly of Kosovo. Limaj also said they are against the procession of votes that arrived via mail from Serbia. “Today’s attempt to process and count irregular votes is an attempt to deform the will of the people. Votes from Serbia are irregular and as such they should not be processed. They are in opposition to the legislation,” he added.

Palmer: This will be first government that won’t have party from KLA (media)

Several news websites report that the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, said on Wednesday that it is up to Kosovo and Serbia to decide whether the issue of borders will be included in their efforts to normalise relations, several news websites report.

During a hearing at the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Palmer said the U.S. want to see a comprehensive agreement with local ownership.

“What we would like to see is a sustainable agreement, which is in local ownership, and which can be convincing for people in Serbia and Kosovo. I think it is important to have a comprehensive agreement on full normalisation, and multi-dimensional; it would have a security component, a political component, an economic and trade component and a cultural component.”

Asked about concerns over the impact of border changes in other parts of the region, Palmer said: “I absolutely understand the ‘Pandora Box’ argument which has led many observers in the Balkans to ask if you change a border here what will happen to a border there, where must the line be drawn? I think these are legitimate concerns. And if the parties move toward discussing these issues, this is something we should work on and see whether this is a risk that can be properly managed”.

Palmer said the political parties that won in the recent parliamentary elections in Kosovo have made it clear that they don’t want to discuss this issue. He also said he was working with Ambassador Grenell to identify ways to bring the parties back to the talks.

Palmer said the new government of Kosovo must suspend the tariff on Serbian products and that Serbia must end its campaign aimed at delegitimising Kosovo’s independence in order to enable the resumption of talks.

Palmer also said that the October 6 elections were very important for Kosovo “and this will be the first government formed without forces with ties to the former Kosovo Liberation Army … without figures from the past. This proves the people’s will for change”. He said the new government is expected to be formed by the Vetevendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo.

“This is the first time that Vetevendosje emerged as the leading party in the elections. I know Mr. Kurti but it remains unclear how he will act once in government … I hope they will move quickly, because there is work to be done, before the parties can sit at the table of talks”.

Palmer criticised the European Union for failing to start membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, a decision which he said “sent a wrong message to Pristina and Belgrade”.

U.S. and Russia want a compromise solution on Kosovo (Klan Kosova)

The news website reports that Russian Ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Botsan – Kharchenko, and the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Belgrade, Gabriel Escobar, agreed in statements to Belgrade-based Vecernje Novosti that the solution to the Kosovo problem must be a result of a compromise. In their answers to three same questions on the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the two diplomats said Kosovo and Serbia must find a solution with the help of international stakeholders.

Kosovo leaders welcome U.S. resolution on killing of Bytyqi brothers (media)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci took to Facebook on Wednesday to welcome the passing by the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress of a resolution on the killing of the three Bytyqi brothers, U.S. citizens, who were kidnapped, executed, and dumped into a mass grave by Serbian police in July 1999. “I welcome the passing of the ‘Bytyqi’ resolution which expresses dissatisfaction over Serbia’s delays in convicting those responsible for the killing of the Bytyqi brothers by Serbia’s state apparatus in 1999. This makes it possible for the issue to be addressed by the highest instances in the U.S., and it also shows that when Kosovo is concerned, the U.S. stands united and without differences. For us it is encouraging to continue to seek justice for all victims of the Serbian regime in Kosovo and that justice for the Bytyqi brothers will finally be served,” Thaci wrote.

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj also hailed the resolution. He said in a Facebook post that the unanimous vote of the U.S. Congress is good news and a clear message to Serbia "that admission of guilt and putting before justice perpetrators of massacres and killings of Albanians is the only way towards peace and stability in the region."

"We call on Serbian authorities to acknowledge this reality and not hide facts and criminals but distance themselves from these and pave the way to justice," Haradinaj wrote.

Acting Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli welcomed the adoption of the resolution calling on Serbia to resolve the murder of three Bytyqi brothers and bring to justice perpetrators. On Twitter, Pacolli said the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is "responsible for the handling of the Bytyqi Brothers’ case. Those responsible must be brought to justice for once."

Serbian official, Kozarev, not permitted to enter Kosovo (media)

Deputy head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, Dusan Kozarev, has not been allowed to enter Kosovo through the border crossing point in Jarinje under the justification that his visit was not announced beforehand.

Serbia’s Office for Kosovo condemned the ban saying authorities in Pristina were preventing Serbian officials from “being with their people in the southern province, even after the conclusion of election campaign and in violation to the Agreement on Free Movement.”

At the same time, Jetlir Zyberaj from the Kosovo’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Kozarev among Serbian officials not allowed into Kosovo without prior approval. “They chose not to respect the agreement and as a result he was stopped at Jarinje,” Zyberaj said.

Kelmendi: Losers and winners (Koha)

Adriatik Kelmendi, producer at Pristina-based KTV, writes in an opinion piece that “there are no big winners or losers in the October 6 elections, because to a great extent the result of these elections was the will of the people, from previous elections, but only postponed artificially for two years as a result of unprincipled pre-election coalitions”. Kelmendi notes that even in the 2017 parliamentary elections, the majority of Albanian votes went to the Vetevendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo, which then remained in the opposition.