OSCE statement on eve of Kosovo elections

VIENNA, 27 October 2000 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner pointed out that Kosovo will tomorrow enjoy for the first time ever democratic elections on municipal level. "This is an historic opportunity for the people of Kosovo to express their opinion in a free and fair manner and to show the international community that the people of Kosovo are committed to a democratic future." The elections are organized by the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe.

"I would like to assure the people of Kosovo that the international community has done its utmost to guarantee a secure environment on election day. In addition, every effort has been made to ensure the secrecy of the ballot and that all registered voters will have the opportunity to vote", Ms. Ferrero-Waldner said.

She also noted with satisfaction that in the course of the election campaign, political speeches have begun to address the concrete problems of voters at the local level. Contesting parties have, in general, respected the Electoral Code of Conduct and all the Electoral Rules.

On the other hand, as on many previous occasions, Ms. Ferrero-Waldner expressed her regret that despite vigorous efforts by OSCE to encourage the Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Turkish communities to participate in the voter registration, these efforts were to a large degree unsuccessful. Minister Ferrero-Waldner welcomed the extent to which the OSCE has reached out to all those members of Kosovo's many communities who wanted to participate in the political process.

To ensure that the OSCE standards are met, the elections will be monitored by international observers from the Council of Europe. In addition, the OSCE has accredited 4,886 domestic observers from political parties, coalitions, citizens' initiatives and independent candidates as well as 1,300 observers from local NGOs.

Ms. Ferrero-Waldner has been encouraged by the relatively calm electoral campaign. "I am looking forward to tomorrow's election day being equally free of violence", she declared.

"I would therefore like to call again on the people of Kosovo to exercise their democratic rights tomorrow. The officials elected tomorrow by the people of Kosovo will have a public duty to represent the interests of the various communities in the province and will be responsible for up-holding the promises they have made during the electoral campaign", Ms. Ferrero-Waldner declared.