The United States is concerned that conditions are not in place at this time for elections to be held later this month in northern Kosovo, the US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier said this morning.
Following the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions, the Kosovo President called urgent elections for the mayors of four municipalities in the north for December 18th, and municipal assembly elections for the Zvecan and Leposavic municipalities for December 25th.
Although the Central Election Commission immediately started preparations, the head of the Kosovo Office, Petar Petkovic, announced straightway that the elections were „doomed to fail“ without the participation of Serbs. At the same time, Srpska Lista revealed that they would not be participating in the elections, nor will „the 95% of Serbs who support them“.
Nevertheless, the preparations for the elections with registered candidates continued, and acting officials from other areas were appointed to the positions of four former presidents of the municipal election commissions in the North.
As it was previously announced for the Pristina media, and then confirmed by the competent institutions, on Tuesday, accompanied by the police, they went to the MEC offices in the North – Zubin Potok and North Mitrovica.
Upon their arrival, at least two incidents broke out in these municipalities accompanied by air raid sirens, while the gathered Serbs prevented them from entering the offices.
While the incident in Zubin Potok ended peacefully, with the intervention of the police, in Mitrovica, according to official sources, two explosive devices were thrown at the premises of the MEC, one of which exploded, and the other was removed late last night.
Earlier this morning, the US condemned those who employed violence during yesterday’s incidents in northern Kosovo.
The US ambassador, Jeff Hovenier, warned that “resorting to violence and intimidation, including use of an explosive device, and endangering lives is never an appropriate method of protest, under any circumstances.”
Addressing the upcoming elections, Hovenier said that the US is concerned that conditions are not in place at this time for elections, as citizens’ safety is a top priority.
“The United States is concerned that conditions are not in place at this time for elections to be held later this month in northern Kosovo. The safety and security of all Kosovan citizens should be the highest priority,” he tweeted.
He urged all involved to exercise restraint.
The Chairman of the CEC, Kreshnik Radoniqi, said yesterday at an extraordinary session that it is not possible to proceed as planned with the organization of elections in four municipalities in the North, due to the latest events.
„As far as I can tell, we cannot continue as planned under these conditions. It is unfair to send our officials where there is uncertainty. On the other hand, I do not agree that the police did not react. All actions are coordinated with the police. It is clear in the report and the media that access to our offices is problematic. Warehouses and polling stations are important, but we don’t have access to them.“
He also said that they are waiting for the report of the Kosovo Police and that after that they will contact the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.
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