an hour agoEU observation mission: Kosovo testified Sunday that it is a true democracy
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)The EU monitoring mission has praised Sunday's election process on the part of the CEC, political parties and citizens. The chief of this mission, Lucas Mandl, has said municipal elections have been well planned and fundamental rights respected. He said they have visited nearly 400 polling sites. “Process [...]
The EU monitoring mission has praised Sunday's election process on the part of the CEC, political parties and citizens.
The chief of this mission, Lucas Mandl, has said municipal elections have been well planned and fundamental rights respected. He said they have visited nearly 400 polling sites.
The electoral process is still under way and the counting process is still under way. So our conclusions are preliminary. The October 17th elections have been well organised, unfortunately women have been under-represented. The media have contributed to inform voters. The transparent election management has prompted the procedures to be carried out within election terms. The legal framework has offered a basis, but some shortcomings have yet to be treated properly. Furthermore, the process of registering candidates still” has said Mandl.
But Mandl was critical of the Serbian list, which he said contributed to the vote of Serbian citizens.
Serbia's “List has monopolized the lives of Kosovo Serbs and, as some co- talkers have shown, there have been threats from the Serbian List”, he said.
Meanwhile, the media environment was alive and pluralistic. But that the KPM has not been effective enough.
European Parliament Members Delegation Leader Violet von Cremon-Taubadel has said that Kosovo is an example for the region in terms of democracy.
Cremon also highlighted the threats that have made to Serbian hopefuls.
The local democracy “is the foundation of democracy, monitoring these elections has made us understand. These elections have proved that Kosovo is a true democracy. Despite electoral competition, political parties, with some exceptions, have respected each other.
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“Today, Kosovo more than ever is an example of democracy for the region. Unfortunately, though, some systematic shortcomings have not yet been averted. One of these is narrowing the political space for Serbs. The Serbian list has dominated and has left no room for other Serbian parties”, Cameron has continued.
Cremon was also asked about visa liberalisation for Kosovars, but she said it is not the EU's responsibility to give the green light for visas.
