EU sends no observers from Brussels for June 7th elections

Although the president's task officer, Albulen Haxhiu, had extended an official invitation to European institutions for the submission of observers, the request has not received positive answers.

EU institutions have completely ignored the request of the chief of state's task.

Since the 2013 local elections and the 2014 parliamentary elections, The EU had been constantly present with special monitoring missions for monitoring the election process.

After the election ended, this mission drafted a report praising the organisation and management of the election process in Kosovo.

After announcing June 7th on holding early parliamentary elections, Haxhiu had sent official letters to European Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola as well as to EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Kaya Kallas.

At her invitation, she had stressed that accepting an EU observer mission would help strengthen transparency, credibility and integrity of the election process, reflecting Kosovo's commitment to democratic standards and organising free and fair elections.

The EU Monitoring Mission's “implementation would contribute to transparency, credibility and integrity of the electoral process, in line with the continued devotion of the Republic of Kosovo to democratic standards and free elections”, it was said in the Presidency's announcement.

But that requirement is not supported by the European Union.

The reasons for ignoring Haxhi's request are still unknown.

In the list published by the Central Election Commission for accredited subjects that will monitor the June 7th elections, the EU special observer mission is not in evidence.

In previous election processes, European observers were registered by the name “EU Appletion Expert Mission”.

According to CEC data, only four international organisations will engage in monitoring these elections: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with 19 observers, International Monitors Programme with 22 observers, Institute de Copopération et Développement with 75 observers and National Democracy Institute with 14 observers.

The EU will be part of election monitoring only through its Kosovo office staff, which as diplomatic representation “EU in Kosovo” is accredited with 44 observers. In that form, there have also been accredited in past processes in Kosovo, along with accrediting the special mission made up of election monitoring experts.

Meanwhile, at the meeting held Tuesday, the CEC has also approved the second group of observers for early parliamentary elections.

With new claims, the total number of registered observers for monitoring the election process has reached over 16 thousand.

The CEC has announced that accredited observers represent: 15 political subjects 14,925 observers; 13 Local NGO 796 observers; 4 international organisations 130 observers; 39 local media 457 observers; 23 international media 78 observers; 6 diplomatic representation ♫ 90 observers; and 1 local institution HINA 67 observers.

In the past parliamentary elections, which were held on December 28th, the EU had conspicuously reduced the number of election observer mission observers to 7 observers.

As for the elections, which were held on February 9th, the EU had sent 104 observers.