This is the police: Six Serbs backed up, two trucks with referendum materials are in customs

Kosovo police have come out with a communique for last night's developments in Merdare, where the co-ordinator from Serbia was arrested bringing the referendum material.

According to police, three vehicles (a car and two trucks) of Serbia's license plates -- in which there have been six people -- have been found to have been loaded with material for the referendum tomorrow in Serbia.

On 14,01.22, at 21:40 at the Merdare Border Cross Point connecting Serbia with the Republic of Kosovo (RKS), at the entrance to our country, three vehicles (a car and two trucks) have come to Serbia's license plates, where six people have been in. Police units during the implementation of tasks and controls that are implemented during border crossings have noted that material suspected of being used in the truck was being held in Serbia”, police reported.

Police say he has allowed the entry of this material into the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, until persons who have been in these vehicles after the interview have returned to Serbia.

“Based on official information, police tasks and authorizations, this material was denied access to RKS, which was being transported without proper permission. In co-operation and co-ordination with justice bodies, the two transporters (the trucks) have been sent to competent customs authorities, while after interviewing persons with their vehicle have returned to Serbia. The case will continue to be addressed in co-operation with relevant institutions and justice bodies”, said further in the communique.

The so-called Office for Kosovo in Serbia's Government has announced Friday evening that at the Merdare border point between Kosovo and Serbia, an co-ordinator has been stopped who has attempted to introduce electoral material for the Serbian referendum in the Republic of Kosovo.

According to the announcement, the co-ordinator of this commission, Marko Jankovic, was accompanied by two trucks carrying election material, concerning what “was announced by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSBE) in Kosovo”.

Among other things in the report is said to have confiscated the two trucks and arrested the commission's official, as well as truck drivers.

The announcement also said that the Commission official has been sent “in an unknown direction”.

European officials are said to have been notified on this issue.

Ox0 session The SEU in Kosovo was obliged tonight to take over the electoral material in line with its mandate on the ground, but also the willingness to organise the referendum, which we have announced with a letter of December 22nd last year. However, tonight the OSCE mission, not only has it not taken over the referendum material, but it has not been submitted to Merdare, where it has had to get the material, as it has been done every time so far in previous election processes”, mentioned in the announcement.

Otherwise, Kosovo institutions have said on Friday that opening Serbia's polling stations in Kosovo constitutes violations of the constitution and Kosovo laws.

The heads of institutions said that Kosovo Serb citizens, with dual citizenship, could vote for the referendum in Serbia through post or in the liaison office in Pristina, but not in a process organised by OSCE.

Earlier on January 14th, officials from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union have said they have regretted accepting the Kosovo government's decision not to allow O The SEU to collect votes in Kosovo for the referendum in Serbia. They called on the Kosovo government to allow Serbs in Kosovo to exercise their right to vote in elections and election processes in line with this established practice.

The leaders of the presidency, Government and Assembly of Kosovo have called on Quint countries to apply the same standards in relation to Kosovo as to any other state, considering that its independence has been recognised by many democratic countries in the world.

The referendum on changes to Serbia's constitution will be held on Sunday, January 16th.

The changes concern the judiciary, and Serbia has been tasked with the European Union membership process. As EU representatives have consistently explained, the goal of changing Serbia's Constitution is to achieve an independent judiciary, without political influence and rule of law