Headlines - 05.06.2014 Elections a good opportunity for integration of communities (Lajm) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuçi yesterday met with a United Nations delegation, headed by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet. The main topics of discussion were developments in Kosovo in the area of rule of law, the dialogue process with Serbia, the EU integration process, and membership in regional and international organizations, including the United Nations. Assistant Secretary-General Mulet said he was impressed by positive developments in Kosovo in recent years. He said, “In general we are seeing a very encouraging picture and we are impressed with the processes. The contributions of the UN and EU were large, but without any doubt, it was the Kosovo institutions that performed most of the work on the development of Kosovo.” He added that the UN supports the dialogue with Serbia, emphasizing that the integration of Serbs in the north is a very important process and that national elections are a good opportunity to demonstrate this integration.  Poll: PDK in the lead, Vetevendosje and AKR gaining (Tribuna) On its front page, the paper shares the results of a poll which it says was carried out late May by an unnamed company. The poll puts the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) in the lead with 31.2 percent, while the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) follows with 25.5 percent. In third place is Vetevendosje with 14.3 percent while the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) is in fourth with 9 percent. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) is ranked fifth with 8 percent whereas the Initiative for Kosovo is not expected to cross the election threshold and will win no more than 2.5 percent of votes. The previous poll from the same company carried out in March also put the PDK in the top spot with 28.3 percent followed by LDK with 24. The poll was conducted in seven Kosovo regions, and 300 respondents were interviewed from each of them. Cliff: Manipulations like those of 2010 would be a setback for Kosovo (Koha) British Ambassador Ian Cliff, in a front-page interview for the paper, said that election fraud, as it happened in 2010, would be a setback for democracy in Kosovo and a very bad thing for its European integration. However, he said that the last local elections had given him hope that the upcoming ones would be free and fair. “If the message of political parties reaches activists on the ground that fraud is unacceptable, then I think we will have free and fair elections”, said Cliff. With regards to the possibility of the Serbs in the north boycotting elections, Cliff said this would be detrimental for them. “I personally hope the boycott will be avoided because otherwise we would not have qualitative representation at the Kosovo Assembly”, he stressed. Kosovo has slipped shamefully into corruption (Zeri) In a front-page interview in Zeri, the German Ambassador in Kosovo, Peter Blomeyer, says that Kosovo has shamefully slipped into corruption. According to him, words should be followed with actions, and the phenomenon of politicians not declaring their wealth should be tackled. “Corruption in Kosovo is present at all levels. Everyone knows someone who has paid bribes for an illegal construction permit, better grades for their children, or spots at the university,” Blomeyer said.  Daka: Election campaigns proceeding normally (Epoka e Re) The Head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Valdete Daka, stated on Wednesday that the election campaigns are flowing normally. She added that representatives of the political parties have presented their governing programmes and they excluded aggressive vocabulary. She expressed optimism that Sunday’s elections would be held in a democratic spirit. She added that there are no indications that a repeat of what happened in the November 2013 elections will occur again in the north. She said that the preliminary results for the 8 June elections will be published live through K-VOTE.  Mustafa: Belgrade negotiates with Pristina because it needs EU (Bota Sot) The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa said for the Austrian daily, Die Presse, that the entire world knows that Serbia committed genocide against the Albanian population in Kosovo during 1990 to 1999, massacring over 12,000 civilians, and expelling about one million Albanians. He noted that 1,800 still remain missing. The leader of the opposition was suspicious of the new Government of Serbia’s readiness to find a solution in its negotiations with Kosovo. “We were the first opposition party to support this issue. All issues can be resolved through dialogue. On the other hand, there is no sufficient will in Belgrade to find a solution,” said Mustafa. “To us, integration of the Serb community in our society is an important part of this dialogue. Belgrade representatives sit at these discussions because they need the EU integration process,” said Mustafa. He welcomed the statements of the recently elected Prime Minister in Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, that his party is interested in continuing with the dialogue and implementing the agreements. He hoped that these promises were not just words.