FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
All voting centers in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo were closed on Sunday at 19:00. The Central Election Commission (CEC) said that until 15:00, 203 people voted in the votes for the dismissal or not of the municipal mayors.
According to the spokesperson of the CEC, Valmir Elez, 122 people voted in Leposaviq, 17 in Zubin Potok, and 64 in North Mitrovica. Until 15:00, nobody has voted in Zveçan.
This process was organized as Lista Serbe, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade, has called for a boycott of the votes.
The network of non-governmental organizations, Democracy in Action (DnV), said that "the voting process throughout the day was characterized by a marked lack of interest from citizens to participate in the vote, despite the fact that in January over 20% of citizens with voting rights had signed the petition for the removal of the mayors in the four municipalities of northern Kosovo".
According to him, no incident was reported during the day.
Dusan Radakovic, from Democracy in Action, told Radio Free Europe that he does not expect anything to change after this process.
" I expect even greater pressure from the structures in power, because they will say that the opportunity to vote has been given, that some other things have been given regarding the signatures (petitions), but I don't think there will be any improvement, I have fear. I am afraid that there will be even more problems, because these mayors will remain in power de facto and de jure until October next year, when the regular local elections are held .
Most of the polling stations opened at 07:00, except for some that opened a few minutes late due to technical reasons.
The network of non-governmental organizations, DnV, has criticized the CEC for delays in informing citizens where the voting centers are.
According to him, the placement of surveillance cameras in polling stations may constitute a violation of the secrecy of the vote, due to the position where they are placed.
The CEC has said that for the first time surveillance cameras have been installed in these elections and such a practice will continue in future election processes.
The spokesperson of the CEC, Valmir Elezi, during the press conference, said that as far as the data recorded by the surveillance cameras are concerned, they will be destroyed together with the electoral material, after the voting.
" The CEC does not supervise, does not monitor the registration or operation of these online. So there is no special room where you watch these videos on the screens. Access to these videos can only be done by decision of the institutions of the CEC, PZAP [Panel Electoral Office for Complaints and Submissions], the prosecution or the courts if there are any cases that are handled in these institutions ," he said.
The State Prosecutor, in cooperation with the Kosovo Police, is supervising the voting process in the north.
This process is also being observed by the European Union through 17 teams with 60 members.
Kosovo Police told Radio Free Europe that the security situation in the north of Kosovo is calm.
" There was no problem with the voting process. Both yesterday and today the situation is calm and in fact we have not had any information related to the destabilization of the situation. We have enough police if there is a need for a response ", said the deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani.
For these votes, in North Mitrovica, Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq, 46,556 people have the right to vote, or 1,461 more voters compared to the local elections held on April 23, 2023, when the Albanian mayors were elected.
In North Mitrovica, 18,796 people have the right to vote. In Leposavic, this number is 13,674. In Zveçan, 7,209 people have the right to vote, while in Zubin Potok, 6,877 people have the right to vote. For the vote to dismiss the mayors to be considered successful, 50 percent plus one voter will have to vote in the respective municipalities.
In the four municipalities in the north there are 23 polling stations, with 63 polling stations and four centers for conditional voting.
According to the CEC, there are eight polling stations in Leposaviq, while there are five in Zveçan, Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica - a much lower number of voting centers in the north than the 43 that were originally approved by the CEC.
In the last meeting of the CEC held the day before the elections, it was said that the directors of the 33 schools in the north - which work according to the Serbian system - have said that they have "school activities" and cannot give the facilities for use to the voting process. Therefore, the CEC has decided that some alternative facilities will be converted into polling stations.
Zgjedhjet e jashtëzakonshme të prillit të vitit 2023, që u mbajtën pas tërheqjes së serbëve nga institucionet e Kosovës, në fund të vitit 2022, në shenjë pakënaqësie ndaj vendimit për targat të Qeverisë së Kosovës, u bojkotuan nga partitë dhe popullata serbe.
Si rrjedhojë, udhëheqjen e Leposaviqit e mori Lulzim Hetemi nga Lëvizja Vetëvendosje, atë të Zubin Potokut Izmir Zeqiri nga Partia Demokratike e Kosovës, udhëheqja e Zveçanit iu besua Ilir Pecit po nga PDK-ja, ndërkaq në krye të Mitrovicës së Veriut u zgjodh Erden Atiq nga Lëvizja Vetëvendosje.
Në maj 2023, kur këta kryetarë – përjashtuar Atiqin – shkuan në zyret e tyre për të nisur mandatin, u përballën me revoltë të popullatës lokale, të cilët protestuan para ndërtesave komunale, të cilat njëkohësisht ishin objekte të komunave që funksionojnë sipas sistemit serb.
Situata u përshkallëzua më 29 maj në Zveçan, pas përleshjeve mes protestuesve dhe pjesëtarëve të misionit paqeruajtës të NATO-s në Kosovë, KFOR. Për pasojë, dhjetëra persona u lënduan nga të dyja palët.
Faktori ndërkombëtar i bëri thirrje Kosovës që të organizojë votime të reja.
Në shtator 2023, Qeveria e Kosovës nxori një udhëzim administrativ që u mundësonte qytetarëve të ndiqnin disa procedura për të shkarkuar kryetarët.
Sipas udhëzimit, serbët, përmes peticioneve mblodhën 20 për qind të nënshkrimeve të nevojshme – nga numri i përgjithshëm i votuesve të regjistruar – dhe KQZ-ja vendosi 21 prillin si datë të votimit.
Sipas udhëzimit, do të duhen 50 për qind, plus një votë, nga lista e votuesve të votojnë për shkarkimin e kryetarit të komunës përkatëse. Më pas, rezultati i dërgohet presidentes, Vjosa Osmani, e cila ka afat që nga 30 deri 45 ditësh të shpallë zgjedhjet.
Teksa KQZ-ja veçse kishte nisur procedurat për organizimin e votimeve, Lista Serbe – partia më e madhe e serbëve në Kosovë që gëzon mbështetjen e Beogradit – më 7 prill njoftoi se do të bojkotonte votimet.
Kreu i kësaj partie, Zllatan Ellek, u ankua se autoritetet kanë vendosur “procedura të parealizueshme” për votimin e 21 prillit dhe se listat e votuesve “nuk e pasqyrojnë gjendjen reale në terren”, duke argumentuar se numri i shqiptarëve në listat e votuesve "është rritur".
“Qëndrimi i Listës Serbe është të mos marrë pjesë në referendumin e thirrur nga Albin Kurti [kryeministri i Kosovës], sepse ai bëri gjithçka që ai të dështojë”, tha ai.
Në ditët në vijim, Lista Serbe tërhoqi anëtarët e saj nga Komisionet Komunale Zgjedhore.
Vendimi i Listës Serbe për të bojkotuar votimet u kritikua nga Bashkimi Evropian, që i bëri thirrje këtij subjekti që të rishqyrtojë vendimin dhe të mos bëjë thirrje për bojkot.
Ministri i Administrimit të Pushtetit Lokal, Elbert Krasniqi, më 21 prill vizitoi vendvotimet në Leposaviq.
Duke folur për bojkotin e Listës Serbe, Krasniqi tha se kjo parti dëshiron që ta ketë "monopolin" mbi politikën e serbëve në Kosovë.
"Lista Serbe wants to have a monopoly on the politics of Serbs in Kosovo. They see the institutions only for themselves and not for the citizens. They continue to have seats reserved for the Serbian community in the Assembly of Kosovo and do not represent the interests of the citizens, but receive the salaries of the Assembly of Kosovo. Now citizens, even by voting, declare whether they are for the removal of the mayors or not", said Krasniqi.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Kurti, meanwhile, on April 19 called on the Serbs to vote if they want to dismiss the presidents, arguing that they can only be dismissed through votes, "not gangs". He said that if the citizens decide to dismiss the mayors, the Government guarantees that this decision will be implemented "quickly"./ REL
Lini një Përgjigje