Citizens turn to the ballot boxes tomorrow/ Osmani, call for participation in the elections

2023-04-22 14:39:33, Kosova & Bota CNA

Citizens turn to the ballot boxes tomorrow/ Osmani, call for participation in

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has called on the citizens in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo to participate in the extraordinary local elections on April 23.

Osmani said that despite the fact that some citizens of the north have been the "target of threats and intimidation", participation in the elections is in the interest of their residents.

" I understand that many of you have been the target of threats and intimidation that have been made in recent weeks by criminal structures with the support of Belgrade, in order to force you to give up your voice and power to shape the future of the municipalities yours. However, I want to assure you that all Kosovo institutions are doing everything to ensure that these elections are free and fair and that your safety is guaranteed. Therefore, I urge you to reject those who come to you with threats and blackmail. I encourage you to send a strong and clear message with your participation in the local elections of April 23, 2023 ," Osmani said.

Osmani added that by participating in the elections, the Serbs will send a "strong message" to those who he said are "fearing and oppressing" the population in the north, "that they will not be able to silence you and that the officials elected by you will to serve you and the interest of all the citizens of the municipality".

On April 23, in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zveçan, the elections for the new mayors of the municipalities will be held. Meanwhile, in Zveçan and Leposaviq, there will be voting for the new composition of the municipal assemblies.

In the elections, 10 candidates for mayor of municipalities are competing and only one is from the ranks of the Serbian community. The main party of the Serbs in Kosovo, Lista Serbe, does not participate in the elections and has called for their boycott.

The elections are being held after on November 5, 2022, the mayors of North Mitrovica, Leposaviç, Zveçan and Zubin Potok from the Serbian List, resigned.

They, together with municipal assemblymen and other officials from the security and justice sector, took this decision as a sign of dissatisfaction with a decision of the Government of Kosovo, which obliged Serbs to replace their car license plates, issued by Serbia, with those RKS - Republic of Kosovo.

The elections were originally scheduled for December 18, 2022, but were canceled due to tensions in the north of Kosovo.

The Central Election Commission, meanwhile, said that it has made all the necessary preparations for holding the elections. The head of the CEC, Kreshnik Radoçini, during the meeting held on April 22, called on the citizens of the four municipalities in the north to exercise their right to vote.

"We as the Commission have taken all the necessary steps to organize the elections. We have all the polling stations which we have approved. We have placed the containers in the designated places and everything is ready for the start of the elections tomorrow. Therefore, on behalf of the CEC, I invite all the citizens of the northern municipalities to use the constitutional right to go to the elections and in this way choose their legitimate representatives and build their democratic institutions", he said.

A day before the holding of the elections, the European Union called on the parties for restraint and demanded that the election process be carried out peacefully.

In the April 23 elections, 19 polling stations will be open, 13 of which will be located in containers. The total number of citizens who can vote, according to the CEC, is 45,095./ REL