Newsroom
Roughly one million register but OSCE regrets Serb boycott
PRISTINA 24 July 2000
PRISTINA, 24 July 2000 - The combined Civil and Voter Registration process came to a successful end on July 19th last. In total, about one million Kosovars living in Kosovo registered during the three-month long operation. The registration was conducted jointly by the UN Civil Administration and the OSCE. With this first phase of the process now complete, preparations for elections - including the compilation of the voters' list - will shift into full gear. Municipal elections are due to be held this autumn.
OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Daan Everts, commended the people of Kosovo for their active participation in the registration process, which, he said, "clearly demonstrates the will of the vast majority of the population to take part in constructing a democratic future for Kosovo."
However, he said, the non-participation of Kosovo's Serb community had detracted from the success of the process. The OSCE made considerable efforts, including regular and repeated meetings with the Serb leaders, public information campaigns and diplomatic undertakings, to convince the Serb population to play their rightful role in a new democratic Kosovo. Ambassador Everts said he regretted the Serb decision not to participate but stressed that the OSCE will continue to try and accommodate the Serbs in the evolving political development of Kosovo. "Everybody shares the concerns of the Serbs regarding their still precarious security situation but their boycott has not made this task any easier."
The OSCE held around 20 different meetings with all the Kosovo Serb leaders and went to great lengths to design a public information outreach campaign aimed at the Serbian community. On a diplomatic level, there were regular exchanges with Belgrade's representative in Pristina. OSCE member states and the Contact Group also exerted pressure on the Belgrade authorities in a bid to ensure that Kosovo Serbs living in Serbia were not deprived of their basic political right to vote. "Unfortunately the Belgrade authorities must be held responsible for the Serb boycott, a conclusion that is underlined by the fact that Belgrade did not allow registration teams in the territory of Serbia," Ambassador Everts said. In contrast, successful in-person registration was conducted in Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia (FYROM).
Added to the electorate to be drawn from the successfully completed registration process in Kosovo will be the out of Kosovo registrants, who applied to be included in the voters' register with the International Organisation for Migration. It is still too early to provide the final number of out-of-Kosovo registrants as applications by mail are still being received. So far, more than 180,000 applications have arrived at the IOM office in Vienna which is co-ordinating the out-of-Kosovo registration process.
As the review and inquiry process for the roughly 80,000 cases who did not have sufficient documentation to be included on the register continues, OSCE is now intensifying preparations for the municipal elections. The Central Elections Commission has already certified 20 political parties, 2 coalitions, 3 citizens' initiatives and 15 independent candidates to contest the elections. Political parties were given until July 28th to submit their candidates for each of the municipalities in which they intend running. Together with the Central Elections Commission, the OSCE will increase its regulatory and educational effort to ensure that the elections are free and fair.
This first phase of the registration process registered habitual residents of Kosovo. An habitual resident was defined as someone who was born in Kosovo, one of whose parents was born in Kosovo or who had resided in Kosovo for at least 5 years. These criteria were designed to accommodate the special circumstances of the Kosovo population, taking into account the massive population movements due to the recent conflict. In Phase Two of the registration process, all those under the age of 16 and those who did not participate in the first phase will have a chance to register under the auspices of the UN Civil Administration. In order to complete the voters' registration, SRSG Dr Kouchner will have to certify the registration upon the recommendation of the Head of the Joint Registration Task Force and the Central Elections Commission. The SRSG will also set the date for the elections.
For further information, contact OSCE Spokesperson Roland Bless Tel: (+381-38) 500-162 or satphone: 871-762-009-948 ext. 260 / mobile: (+389-70) 250-576 / email: press@omik.org //www.osce.org/kosovo/
OSCE Head of Mission, Ambassador Daan Everts, commended the people of Kosovo for their active participation in the registration process, which, he said, "clearly demonstrates the will of the vast majority of the population to take part in constructing a democratic future for Kosovo."
However, he said, the non-participation of Kosovo's Serb community had detracted from the success of the process. The OSCE made considerable efforts, including regular and repeated meetings with the Serb leaders, public information campaigns and diplomatic undertakings, to convince the Serb population to play their rightful role in a new democratic Kosovo. Ambassador Everts said he regretted the Serb decision not to participate but stressed that the OSCE will continue to try and accommodate the Serbs in the evolving political development of Kosovo. "Everybody shares the concerns of the Serbs regarding their still precarious security situation but their boycott has not made this task any easier."
The OSCE held around 20 different meetings with all the Kosovo Serb leaders and went to great lengths to design a public information outreach campaign aimed at the Serbian community. On a diplomatic level, there were regular exchanges with Belgrade's representative in Pristina. OSCE member states and the Contact Group also exerted pressure on the Belgrade authorities in a bid to ensure that Kosovo Serbs living in Serbia were not deprived of their basic political right to vote. "Unfortunately the Belgrade authorities must be held responsible for the Serb boycott, a conclusion that is underlined by the fact that Belgrade did not allow registration teams in the territory of Serbia," Ambassador Everts said. In contrast, successful in-person registration was conducted in Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia (FYROM).
Added to the electorate to be drawn from the successfully completed registration process in Kosovo will be the out of Kosovo registrants, who applied to be included in the voters' register with the International Organisation for Migration. It is still too early to provide the final number of out-of-Kosovo registrants as applications by mail are still being received. So far, more than 180,000 applications have arrived at the IOM office in Vienna which is co-ordinating the out-of-Kosovo registration process.
As the review and inquiry process for the roughly 80,000 cases who did not have sufficient documentation to be included on the register continues, OSCE is now intensifying preparations for the municipal elections. The Central Elections Commission has already certified 20 political parties, 2 coalitions, 3 citizens' initiatives and 15 independent candidates to contest the elections. Political parties were given until July 28th to submit their candidates for each of the municipalities in which they intend running. Together with the Central Elections Commission, the OSCE will increase its regulatory and educational effort to ensure that the elections are free and fair.
This first phase of the registration process registered habitual residents of Kosovo. An habitual resident was defined as someone who was born in Kosovo, one of whose parents was born in Kosovo or who had resided in Kosovo for at least 5 years. These criteria were designed to accommodate the special circumstances of the Kosovo population, taking into account the massive population movements due to the recent conflict. In Phase Two of the registration process, all those under the age of 16 and those who did not participate in the first phase will have a chance to register under the auspices of the UN Civil Administration. In order to complete the voters' registration, SRSG Dr Kouchner will have to certify the registration upon the recommendation of the Head of the Joint Registration Task Force and the Central Elections Commission. The SRSG will also set the date for the elections.
For further information, contact OSCE Spokesperson Roland Bless Tel: (+381-38) 500-162 or satphone: 871-762-009-948 ext. 260 / mobile: (+389-70) 250-576 / email: press@omik.org //www.osce.org/kosovo/