OSCE successfully concludes election facilitation in four northern Kosovo municipalities
PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 1 December 2013 – Following the completion of the second round of mayoral elections in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North and the re-vote at three polling stations in Zvečan/Zveçan, the OSCE successfully concluded its election facilitation in the four northern Kosovo municipalities.
The OSCE’s election facilitation role derived from an agreement reached in Brussels on 19 April 2013. The OSCE will continue offering further assistance as required.
“The OSCE Mission was tasked to implement a very important part of the EU-facilitated agreement on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Prishtinë/Priština, and I am proud of the work we have done. Successful elections in the north have opened the way for further democratic processes in Kosovo,” said Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
“In the aftermath of the elections we are looking forward to working closely with all newly elected municipal officials, our central level counterparts and international partners in the OSCE’s three programmatic areas in Kosovo which include human and community rights, democratization, and public safety.”
“I want to thank the security providers, Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR without whom elections in the north would have not been possible. I also want to express my gratitude to the staff of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo for all their hard work and the OSCE missions in the region for their support.”
Schlumberger further thanked the EU and other international actors who provided general and financial support to the election facilitation.
NOTE TO MEDIA
The OSCE election facilitation operation lasted five months and included provision of all the necessary technical support to enable voting, ranging from facilitating candidates certification to training of municipal election commissions and polling station committees, running a voter information campaign and deploying OSCE staff in all polling stations (PSs) in each of the three rounds of elections: 94 in 3 November first round, 27 in 17 November partial re-vote, and 36 in 1 December runoff and partial re-vote. The OSCE also facilitated out-of-Kosovo voting through its centres in Niš and Podgorica.