The process of counting votes which arrived from central Serbia last Friday began around 9 am yesterday in the premises of the Ministry of Infrastructure in Pristina. The counting of votes, however, was suspended shortly after, approximately at 11 am, due to the „odor“ emanating from the envelopes, which allegedly caused allergic reactions on the faces and hands of the people who counted the votes – Pristina-based media reported yesterday. Citing statements of the members of the CEC, as well as doctors from the Infectious Diseases Clinic and Pristina Hospital Center, the media reported that 26 people suffered from an allergic reaction – 9 of whom were hospitalized. There was no official clarification of yesterday’s incident, while the police and prosecutors stated that investigations are ongoing. The media nevertheless reported that it was a „poisoning“, directly linking it to the envelopes. An extraordinary meeting of the Central Election Commission was also held last night.
The president of CEC, Valdete Daka confirmed that „suspicious envelopes“ will remain in the premises of the Ministry of Infrastructure, adding that about 15,000 votes which arrived „from the diaspora“ will be sent to the CEC (in Kosovo Polje) tomorrow – under police escort.
„They are not being investigated,“ she said, referring to the 15,500 envelopes from the diaspora.
On the other hand, votes from Serbia, for which the Kosovo media claimed to allegedly contain „poison“ or „smelly pills“, will remain in the ministry’s premises, where they were delivered last Friday. According to Daka, the votes will remain there in order to avoid interfering with the police investigation until it is „determined whether they are dangerous or not.“
„These envelopes that are suspected of containing a substance or anything else will remain there to be investigated by police and forensic teams. It is not yet known if their assessment has started, it cannot be done until an investigation is conducted, as they have been assessed as dangerous and we will continue in accordance with procedures,“ she said, Insajderi reported.
What did the media in Pristina report yesterday?
Despite the lack of official information about what was the clear cause of the allergic reactions, first of all, before the police investigation was conducted, several media outlets published sensationalist and controversial headlines and information throughout the day. The „CEC event is reminiscent of the poisoning committed by Serbia during the 90s“, „Exclusive: these are two people who brought poisonous envelopes from Serbia!“, „HC gives details about poisoned women: Two women are pregnant“ – are just some of the headlines.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
