Who needs to go to a Voter Service Centre?
Young people who will turn 18 before election day are one of the largest groups of new voters showing up at Voter Service Centres. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
PRISTINA, 16 July 2002 - The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has noted several news reports that have carried misleading information about the Voter Services operation and who needs to visit a centre. This can be easily clarified.
Most people who have already registered will not have to visit a Voter Service Centre - particularly if they voted with no difficulty at the Assembly Election last year. They are on the voters' list, have been assigned polling stations, and will have the possibility to vote in the Municipal Elections on 26 October.
But there are four main categories of potential voters who will need to visit to a Voter Service Centre before 17 August, to ensure that they can vote on 26 October. These are:
The UN Civil Registry does include young persons that are 16 and 17 years old, but they must first go to a Municipal Civil Registration Centre and register with the UN Mission in Kosovo. Those who will be 18 on election day will then have the proper documentation needed to be registered as a voter and assigned to a polling station.
One further small category of voters will also need to go to a Voter Service Centre - people who wish to vote for the municipality where they were living on 1 January 1998 instead of the municipality where they presently live. On Election Day, they will vote in their current municipality but with a ballot for the previous municipality.
The OSCE is making available to the media a working paper of acceptable documents that can be presented at a Voter Service Centre to assist OSCE officials in registering voters.
Most people who have already registered will not have to visit a Voter Service Centre - particularly if they voted with no difficulty at the Assembly Election last year. They are on the voters' list, have been assigned polling stations, and will have the possibility to vote in the Municipal Elections on 26 October.
But there are four main categories of potential voters who will need to visit to a Voter Service Centre before 17 August, to ensure that they can vote on 26 October. These are:
- persons who have joined the civil registry with the United Nations since the Assembly Election and need to be assigned a polling station;
- persons who experienced difficulties voting in the Assembly Election;
- persons who moved to a different municipality since the last elections;
- persons who have recently turned 18 or will be 18 on election day.
The UN Civil Registry does include young persons that are 16 and 17 years old, but they must first go to a Municipal Civil Registration Centre and register with the UN Mission in Kosovo. Those who will be 18 on election day will then have the proper documentation needed to be registered as a voter and assigned to a polling station.
One further small category of voters will also need to go to a Voter Service Centre - people who wish to vote for the municipality where they were living on 1 January 1998 instead of the municipality where they presently live. On Election Day, they will vote in their current municipality but with a ballot for the previous municipality.
The OSCE is making available to the media a working paper of acceptable documents that can be presented at a Voter Service Centre to assist OSCE officials in registering voters.