„I have to say that it is of great importance that all officials in Kosovo, at all levels, do everything possible to ensure the full implementation of the Administrative Instruction,“ the US Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier said in South Mitrovica today, adding that the US would be very concerned if the Kosovo officials did not show “understanding and flexibility” for this endeavor.
He spoke to the media only a day after the request for the recall of the mayor, submitted by a group of citizens last week in the North Mitrovica municipal building, was rejected for the second time.
Recalling that a new administrative instruction was adopted early this year, which provided for the procedure by which mayors can be recalled by launching a petition, Hovenier said that this was the result of a „very direct request“ from the EU and the US, that Kosovo put into place a system in which mayors in the north can be recalled.
„We saw that this is an important step in achieving de-escalation of the situation in the North of Kosovo. The US was quite clear that, while we believe that the four mayors were elected in a legal way, no one should be satisfied with an election in which less than four percent of the registered voters actually came and voted. These mayors clearly do not fully represent all of the constituents whom they serve,“ Hovenier said.
Recalling that the Kosovo government responded and put into place the Administrative Instruction, he says that Kosovo officials should make additional efforts to ensure that citizens can exercise their democratic rights.
On the other hand, he is aware that this is a new instruction, that is, that it is a completely new practice and process of recalling a mayor in Kosovo: „It is inevitable that there could be some confusions and some potential missteps.“
„But I have to be clear what the expectations of the United States of America is: Citizens have a democratic right, if they wish to follow it, to begin a process and carry out a process for elected officials to be recalled. There are a number of requirements for that to happen, but we fully expect the central government and officials at all levels to do everything possible, to be as flexible as possible, consistent with the law, to ensure that citizens can exercise their democratic right,“ emphasized the US ambassador.
And we are very concerned if anyone is not showing that understanding and flexibility – says Hovenier.
The US ambassador also spoke about the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities, that is, the draft statute of the „Western Five“, as well as the commercial contract on energy recently signed by the companies KEDS and Elektrosever.
Read more:
Hovenier on the draft statute: I am confused by the amount of criticism, Kosovo should form the ASM
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