UNMIK Headlines 23 October
Dialogue in crisis (Tribuna)
According to the paper, dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has entered yet another crisis and this time it is because of Serbia’s demands to give the right of vote to as many Serbs living outside of Kosovo as possible. In addition, Serbia also insists a representative from the Serb List becomes a deputy to the head of CEC which would enable the Serb community to be better represented. The demands have been raised in last week’s meeting of technical teams and the Kosovo side is reported to have refused them.
As a result, Prime Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic asked for a meeting with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. Diplomatic sources said that after careful consideration, Ashton will decide whether to invite the two prime ministers for another meeting before 3 November elections.
Jahjaga guarantees sanctity of the vote (Koha Ditore)
In an interview for KTV’s show Rubikon, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga guaranteed the sanctity of votes in local elections of 3 November. “It is important to have free, fair, and democratic elections and have a fair election process. I appeal for awareness of all participants and I guarantee the sanctity of the vote”, said Jahjaga adding that vote manipulators will receive deserved punishment.
Jahjaga also stressed that girls will not be allowed to wear a headscarf in public schools. “This is not and will not be permitted because Republic of Kosovo is a secular state”, she said.
Majority of Serbs in the north determined not to take part in elections (dailies)
A poll carried out by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) found that in the north of Kosovo, 43.5 percent of the citizens are determined not to take part in local elections in the municipalities of Zveçan, Zubin Potok, Leposaviq and North Mitrovica. About 17 percent of the citizens said that “maybe” they are going to vote, 23 percent stated that they have not yet decided, while only 15.8 percent stated that they will participate in upcoming elections.
The poll included 400 respondents from four municipalities in the north of Kosovo and concluded that over 90 percent of the citizens there are informed about elections set to take place on 3 November 2013. “The number of those who will vote, of those who are maybe going to vote or haven’t decided yet is satisfactory considering political sensitivity and circumstances in that part,” said Atdhe Hetemi, manager of the UNDP project.
Election fraud certified (Zëri)
Zëri reports that certification of the voters list by the Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC), without prior cleaning of the lists from the names of deceased persons has raised concerns of opposition parties and civil society that manipulation of election result could also occur in local elections of 3 November.
CEC has certified the voters list which includes the names of about 50,000 deceased persons and 300,000 people who live outside Kosovo. Florian Dushi the head of the commission for the cleaning of election lists said for the newspaper that the list has already been certified and for these elections it remains as it is.
Report: “Kosova e Re” does not interfere with Obama’s policy (Koha Ditore)
Koha Ditore reports that US State Department supports the building of power plant “Kosova e Re” as most suitable option for Kosovo to avoid the lack of electricity. This support of US came through USAID in an analysis that has been done after the request of American senator, Patrick Leahy, if the power plant in Kosovo is in contradiction with the policy of President Barrack Obama: “Operational Plan for climate changes instead of politics”.
The newspaper has secured the report of US State Department for the project “Kosova e Re”, in which it is concluded that the project does not interfere with the policy of American President, Barrack Obama. He has taken the decision to end support of American Government for the financing of new public coal power plants outside the country, with few exceptions.
Romania to recognize Kosovo in 2015 (Kosova Sot)
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is reported to have told US Vice President Joseph Biden that his country could change its stance on independence of Kosovo and recognize it in 2015. In an interview for Romanian TV channel, Ponta said he didn’t believe the official position towards Kosovo would change next year but by 2015, Romania could decide to coordinate its stance with partners in European Union.