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The CEC paves the way for petitions for the removal of the mayors in the north of Kosovo

2023-12-18 15:51:04, Kosova & Bota CNA

The CEC paves the way for petitions for the removal of the mayors in the north

North Mitrovica.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has opened the way for the organization of petitions for the removal of the mayors in the three municipalities with a Serbian majority in the north of Kosovo, after it has returned an official response to the request of the three chairmen of the municipal assemblies for the respective municipalities, the spokesperson announced on Monday. of the commission, Valmir Elezi.

Elezi said that the CEC has notified the chairpersons of three municipal assemblies, three initiative groups and the Ministry of Local Government Administration of Kosovo (MAPL) regarding the updated number of registered voters in these municipalities "on the basis of which the minimum necessary number of signatures of 20 percent is calculated".

"The CEC, through these three separate answers, has announced that the members of the three initiator groups are voters of the respective municipalities", said Elezi.

He also indicated the total number of citizens with the right to vote in the three municipalities of Leposaviq, North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, as well as the exact number of voters who make up 20 percent of the voting body in each municipality, which is necessary for the dismissal of a mayor through a petition.

He said that the commission has not received any similar request from the municipality of Zveçan.

On December 7, four initiator groups, separately, each consisting of three citizens, submitted to the presidents of the municipal assemblies of four municipalities in the north the requests for the initiation and organization of petitions for the removal of the mayors of the municipalities.

This is one of the first steps foreseen by the Administrative Instruction, which MLGA issued in September, for the removal of the mayor from office, but it was rejected.

The Chairman of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly, Nexhad Uglanin, told Radio Free Europe on December 14 that the initiative groups' request was not accepted because they had not first notified the chairman or the Central Election Commission about the formation of the petition.

"They haven't done that and they don't want to do it. However, this is how the Administrative Instruction instructs me", said Uglanin.

For the same reason, according to him, the requests of the initiators of the petitions for the removal of the mayors in the other three municipalities, Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zveçan, were not accepted. Those demands "were the same and without any difference", said Uglanin.

Albanian mayors moved into municipal facilities in the north at the end of May, a move that has sparked protests by local Serbs.

They won the elections held in April, which were boycotted by the Serbs there.

The administrative instruction for removal of the mayor of the municipality, issued by the Ministry of Local Government Administration, foresees the following steps:

The request must be made by the so-called initiator group, which consists of three or more people with the right to vote in the respective municipality.

This group notifies the chairman of the municipal assembly of the request in question, and the equipment with the necessary documentation.

Then, the group must collect a minimum of 20 percent of the signatures of citizens with the right to vote, with a request for the removal of the chairman.

The list with signatures must be sent to the chairman of the municipal assembly, which later ends up in the Central Electoral Commission.

If the CEC assesses that the conditions have been met, elections are organized to remove the chairman.

If in those elections 50 percent plus 1 vote is secured for the removal of the president, he leaves office and new elections are organized. Otherwise, the initiative fails. It could be repeated only after a year./ REL