Elections/ Kurti: Serbia should seek a special agreement with Kosovo

2023-11-19 18:15:21, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo and Serbia must reach a special agreement, so that members of the Serbian community in Kosovo, who have dual citizenship, can vote in the territory of Kosovo for the Serbian parliamentary elections, set for December 17.

This is what is said in the letter that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has sent to the head of the mission in Kosovo of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Michael Davenport, which was seen by Radio Free Europe.

"Regarding the issue of interstate cooperation for voting abroad, in order to enable the voting of citizens of the Serbian community in Kosovo, with dual citizenship, in the Serbian elections outside the Liaison Office of Serbia in Kosovo, a special agreement must be reached. between Kosovo and Serbia. The request for such an agreement must come from Serbia, as an interested party. And every request must be based on the sovereignty and independence of Kosovo, as equal states, in accordance with Article 2 of the Basic Agreement reached this year between Kosovo and Serbia", says Kurti's letter dated November 17 .

Kurti referred to the Agreement towards the normalization of relations reached in February in Brussels. Then, one month later, Kosovo and Serbia also agreed on the Annex for its implementation.

Article two of this agreement states:

"Both parties will be guided by the purpose and principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, especially those related to the sovereign rights of states, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity, the right to self-determination, the protection of human rights and non-discrimination", it is further stated.

Days ago, OSCE officials told Radio Free Europe that the mission of this organization in Kosovo on November 3 has accepted a request from the Government of Serbia, that this mission be included in the collection of votes of the Kosovo Serbs, who have dual citizenship, for the elections in Serbia.

The OSCE said that it has informed the Government of Kosovo and other important mechanisms about this request, adding that the support of the institutions of Kosovo is essential for the OSCE to be involved in such an electoral organization.

"With these conditions, we encourage Serbia to negotiate such a special agreement with Kosovo and in this way implement another obligation of the Basic Agreement: the contribution to good relations between neighbors, based on equal rights and representation reciprocal for the rights of voters abroad" , says Kurti's letter sent to the head of the OSCE in Kosovo, Michael Davenport.

According to a practice dating back to 2017, Serbs in Kosovo participated in Serbian elections and the votes were tallied by the OSCE. Then those votes were counted in Raska and Vranje, the two border towns of Serbia.

This practice was allowed by the Kosovo authorities until last year. In 2022, the ruling party, the Vetëvendosje Movement, said that Serbia should make a direct request to Kosovo to hold these elections on its territory.

In April of that year, elections were held in Serbia, and for the first time, the Government of Kosovo did not allow elections to be held on the territory of Kosovo.

As a result, Kosovo Serbs have organized and traveled to Serbia by bus to vote.

In January of that year, the Assembly of Kosovo also approved a resolution, through which the holding of votes in Kosovo for a referendum of Serbia on constitutional changes was opposed.

The QUINT countries – the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy and France – and the European Union had awaited the adoption of the resolution with regret.

The international community has repeatedly called on the Government of Kosovo to find ways to hold Serbian elections.

The last parliamentary elections, which Serbia also organized for the Serbian community in Kosovo, were those of June 21, 2020./ REL