Newsroom
Electoral seminars for Kosovo Serb leaders
PRISTINA 5 April 2001
PRISTINA, 5 April 2001 - Leaders from Kosovo's Serb communities are being invited to attend special seminars on electoral systems and voter registration. The first of these will be held in Leposavic on Friday, 6 April 2001.
OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Daan Everts, will welcome the participants to the event, which is being organized by the OSCE's Elections department.
Earlier this week, Ambassador Everts again encouraged Kosovo's Serb communities to join in Kosovo's progress towards becoming a truly democratic society. A very important element of this process, he said, is taking part in elections.
Friday's presentation is aimed at providing the leaders with an understanding of how electoral systems are chosen and how they work. They will be looking at issues such as how smaller communities can benefit from various electoral systems and the options for ensuring minority representation on the elected body, which results from it.
They will also be examining the practicalities of voter registration - both inside Kosovo and outside - and the certification process for political entities wishing to contest an election. The OSCE hopes that voter registration for Kosovo's Serb communities will get underway this summer.
About 70 people are expected to attend the seminar, which will take place in the Cultural Centre in Leposavic. The invitees represent a cross-section of Kosovo Serb society. They are people who are in a position to inform other members of their communities and include representatives of political parties, non-governmental organizations and media outlets.
Similar briefings are taking place across Kosovo. The second seminar is to be held in approximately two weeks time at a location to be announced in central Kosovo.
For information, contact OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Claire Trevena, Spokesperson, Tel: (+381-38) 500-162 x260 / mobile: +377-44-500-150; e-mail: press@omik.org / website: www.osce.org/kosovo
OSCE Head of Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Daan Everts, will welcome the participants to the event, which is being organized by the OSCE's Elections department.
Earlier this week, Ambassador Everts again encouraged Kosovo's Serb communities to join in Kosovo's progress towards becoming a truly democratic society. A very important element of this process, he said, is taking part in elections.
Friday's presentation is aimed at providing the leaders with an understanding of how electoral systems are chosen and how they work. They will be looking at issues such as how smaller communities can benefit from various electoral systems and the options for ensuring minority representation on the elected body, which results from it.
They will also be examining the practicalities of voter registration - both inside Kosovo and outside - and the certification process for political entities wishing to contest an election. The OSCE hopes that voter registration for Kosovo's Serb communities will get underway this summer.
About 70 people are expected to attend the seminar, which will take place in the Cultural Centre in Leposavic. The invitees represent a cross-section of Kosovo Serb society. They are people who are in a position to inform other members of their communities and include representatives of political parties, non-governmental organizations and media outlets.
Similar briefings are taking place across Kosovo. The second seminar is to be held in approximately two weeks time at a location to be announced in central Kosovo.
For information, contact OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Claire Trevena, Spokesperson, Tel: (+381-38) 500-162 x260 / mobile: +377-44-500-150; e-mail: press@omik.org / website: www.osce.org/kosovo