The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jan Brathu, after a visit to the polling station ‘Sveti Sava’ school in northern Kosovo stated that the voting process in northern Kosovo is going well and that there are around 200 observers in this area. He expressed the hope that the situation will remain calm and without problems in the whole territory of Kosovo.
Head of OSCE mission in Kosovo Ambassador Jan Braathu said that the voting at the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo was taking place in a regular manner, and he expressed hope that until the end of the day, the situation throughout Kosovo would remain calm and problem-free.
Braathu visited today the polling centre at “Sveti Sava” school in Mitrovica North.
The head of the OSCE in Kosovo, Jan Braathu, said in a visit to the north of Kosovo that the OSCE is pleased with the way the Serbian presidential elections are going. “A lot of people have come out to vote and if it continues like this, we will be very happy. The OSCE staff are in charge of every phase of this process. I’ve spoken to my colleagues outside and they tell me that things are going smoothly,” Braathu told the media outside one of the polling stations in the north.
The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Jan Braathu, said today in Pristina that no country in the world is completely immune to radicalism and extremism. However, according to him, everyone must work on prevention. “We are all affected,” Braathu said, adding that the OSCE, together with Kosovo institutions, is working in this direction. “The OSCE has a framework for the fight against terrorism and a department dedicated to this,” he said. According to him, the youth groups, different organizations, media, all play a key role in preventing this phenomenon.
Ambassador of Norway in Kosovo, Jan Braathu was a guest of the Free Serbian (Slobodno Srpski) where he said that in this situation all are losers, because Kosovo’s reputation was damaged.
"The efforts that have been made in the last 8 years, to try to build the image of Kosovo, which was more positive, I would say realistically positive, is very much damaged," said Braathu, when he was asked about violence in recent months.
The Norwegian Ambassador to Kosovo, Jan Braathu, said today that opposition parties in Kosovo must adhere to rules and regulations and not decide on the future on their own. “The opposition should follow the Constitution and laws of Kosovo. There is no European country where the minority opposition demands or sets elections. We are not against anyone but please respect the rules,” Braathu said after a meeting with Kosovo Assembly President Kadri Veseli. “Kosovo needs to have a president, but it must be done in coordination with institutions.
The economic development and creation of new jobs should be a priority for the new government of Kosovo, said the Norwegian Ambassador to Kosovo, Jan Braathu, for Radio Kosova. Braathu said that the two parties in the ruling coalition, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) had focused their election campaigns on economic development, and now they have to keep their promises. Braathu also spoke about Kosovo's other priorities, such as the fight against corruption and the establishment of special court.
Jan Braathu, the Norwegian Ambassador to Pristina, said Kosovo could very soon go to new elections and called on authorities to implement necessary measures for a more credible and advanced election system. Braathu made these remarks during a roundtable in Pristina organized by Democracy in Action, a coalition of non-governmental organizations. “A series of concrete measures are required to advance the election system because we might have elections again, in fact much sooner than we expect,” Braathu said.