Headlines - 16.06.2017

• CEC orders recount of 30 ballot boxes (Kosova Sot)
• Haradinaj confident he will get 61 votes for Prime Minister (Koha)
• Kurti: There can be no new government with old regime (Zeri/RFE)
• Haziri: Not even internationals can reconcile us with PDK (RTV Dukagjini)
• “Strategic mistake” if new government is dependent on Serbian List (Koha)
• North of Kosovo does not pay for water, either (Zeri)
• “U.S. suspects Serbia building Russian spy center at Kosovo border” (Epoka)

CEC orders recount of 30 ballot boxes (Kosova Sot)

The Central Election Commission (CEC) had ordered the recount of 30 ballot boxes following recommendation from the Count and Results Centre. Head of CEC, Valdete Daka, said recount decision was taken because ballot boxes missed the signatures of all members of the polling station councils, did not match with result forms, or lacked attached voters lists. CEC also announced that conditional votes have not yet been counted.

Haradinaj confident he will get 61 votes for Prime Minister (Koha)

Ramush Haradinaj, the candidate for Prime Minister from the PDK-AAK-Nisma coalition, told KTV on Thursday that he is confident that he will form a new government and that Kosovo will not face a political deadlock as it did three years ago. “The day when the Haradinaj government is voted in Parliament we will get enough votes from the Albanian MPs and from the communities,” Haradinaj said.

Kurti: There can be no new government with old regime (Zeri/RFE)

Vetevendosje’s candidate for prime minister, Albin Kurti, said in an interview to Radio Free Europe that a new Kosovo government cannot be formed with the old regime. He said his party won the largest number of votes as a single entity and that this result translates into the citizens’ need for change. “We are convinced it is up to Vetevendosje to form a new government and we will do so by talking particularly with the LDK, AKR and Alternativa coalition as well as MPs individually who are part of the Democratic Party of Kosovo coalition”, Kurti said. He added that it makes no sense for a new government to depend on the Serbian List whereby it would have two capitals: Pristina and Belgrade. Kurti said the winning PAN coalition does not have sufficient votes for forming a government and if it decides to join forces with the Serbian List to do so, “it would lead Kosovo into an unbelievable political crisis, unseen since the post-war period”.

Haziri: Not even internationals can reconcile us with PDK (RTV Dukagjini)

Lutfi Haziri, deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said on Thursday that his party would under no circumstance cooperate with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). Haziri said that even international officials cannot reconcile the two parties. “There is no position in government or other institutions that can change the mind of the LDK,” Haziri told RTV Dukagjini. He also argued that the new government of Kosovo should not have more than 12 ministers.

“Strategic mistake” if new government is dependent on Serbian List (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that the Serbian List, which managed to win the majority of mandates among Kosovo Serbs, could become a serious obstacle for future processes in Kosovo if a new government would be dependent from this political party. The paper quotes political analyst Behlul Beqaj as saying that the Serbian List is a serious obstacle. “It is no accident that [Serbian President] Aleksandar Vucic insisted that all Serb political parties are included in this list. If would be a strategic mistake if policymaking in the Parliament is dependent on the Serbian List. The same way it would be a mistake if the presence of the Serbian List is not taken into account,” Beqaj added.

North of Kosovo does not pay for water, either (Zeri)

Apart from electricity, the north of Kosovo does not pay for water either, although the regional water company “Mitrovica” provides water supply to the north at a much lower price compared to the south, reports the paper. The unpaid water bills however are not settled by any of the community living in the north and these are paid by the government of Kosovo in the form of subventions to the “Mitrovica” water company.

“U.S. suspects Serbia building Russian spy center at Kosovo border” (Epoka)

Washington is concerned over the construction of a Russian humanitarian center in Serbia. The United States Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott said on Thusday that there is reason for concern about this center. “I do not know precisely what they are doing, I never visited this center, but I think that there are good reasons to be concerned,” Scott said. The senior official of the U.S. Department of State, Hoyt Brian Yee also expressed his concern during a session on the Balkans at the U.S. Senate. “I am concerned with regard to the so-called humanitarian center, not because of what it is right now, but what it might become especially if Serbia fulfills Russia’s demands. I do not believe that Russia has good intentions to help Balkans join EU,” Yee said.