Serbia's interference in Kosovo elections, Loiseau: Vuçiq pressured
Interviews
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1 months ago
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Serbia has interfered in Kosovo's electoral process, declares the head of the European Union Election Observation Mission in Kosovo (EOM), Nathalie Loiseau. She says that Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq, and other officials from Belgrade, have been pressuring for a certain list to be voted on.
In an interview with KosovaPress, Loiseau also criticizes the American envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, for his statements during the election campaign in the country.
Grenell wrote that "Kurti's rhetoric claiming to be close to the US is completely false."
Loiseau describes these statements not only as interference but also as "shocking".
"There are positive aspects, firstly there is a variety of lists, including in the north, so there are many options for voters, and voters coming from outside Kosovo will be able to vote easily as in the previous elections, despite the rumors. I would be more negative about the reports of pressure coming from Serbia to vote for a certain list. We have heard from Serbian officials who support a certain list, which is interference in the electoral process. We also witnessed interference by the US special envoy, [Richard]Grenell, and this is unfortunate, shocking and undiplomatic. We have regularly heard from the [Serbian] President Vuçiq, but also other members from the government or parliament of Serbia, telling voters that they should vote for a certain list, and this should not have happened", she declares.
She criticizes the ruling party, the Vetëvendosje Movement, and the language used during the election campaign.
"There was a variety of lists, which is of course good, including most municipalities and non-majority political parties. The tone of the campaign was sometimes quite harsh. [There was] More criticism of the opponent than promotion of your program. It was especially harsh on female candidates, in meetings, rallies and online. I am very sorry about that, because it is an obstacle for women to enter politics, and it should not be like that. The media did their best to interview candidates from different political parties, but as we all know, the ruling party decided not to participate in some debates or go to some interviews in some media, and it is a shame, because we have to ensure that voters have an opportunity to be informed and hear everything, and for the smaller parties the media coverage was not equal", she says in the interview for KosovaPress.
The Head of the EU Election Observation Mission in Kosovo, among other things, says that people with disabilities have had problems accessing some voting centers.
“We saw that voters could vote, however there were problems with access to some polling stations for voters with disabilities. There was a lot of uncertainty about how to implement the electoral law regarding assisted voting, because if you look at the law, if you ask for assisted voting, you have to present a certificate, and I have not seen any polling station that asked for a certificate. Maybe that needs to be clarified. But, the atmosphere was very calm, and people were really interested in democracy being a living thing in Kosovo,” she concludes.
Over 100 observers from the European Union were deployed on election day on February 9, which Loiseau considers to have been a peaceful process.
Kosovo held its first regular elections on Sunday since declaring independence in 2008.
Over 1 million and 970 thousand voters in Kosovo had the right to vote, while the number of citizens who voted on February 9 was over 799 thousand./Sh.Pajaziti
