Fourteen polling stations in the municipality of Deçan opened on time, and the electoral process for the October 12 municipal elections in this municipality is proceeding without any irregularities.

During the first three hours of the process, citizens of Deçan have been coming out to vote.

The Acting Executive Officer of the Municipal Election Commission, Fatmir Cacaj, said that the electoral process is going well and that all polling stations in Deçan opened at 7:00 a.m.

“We opened the polling stations as provided by law at 7:00 a.m. So far, the process has gone well; we haven’t had any irregularities… We received the materials on time and distributed them as required by regulation… Even though it’s early in the morning, the interest so far is good,” he said.

Cacaj mentioned that the statistical record book is missing but that they are keeping the necessary notes.

“We don’t have a statistical record book, but we keep the necessary statistics as internal notes,” he stated.

The manager of the “Vëllezërit Frashëri” Voting Center — the largest polling station in Deçan — Hamit Qorraj, said that the election process there also began on time and that no irregularities have been recorded so far.

He added that, up to now, the number of citizens who have voted is not large.

“The process began well and smoothly according to procedures. At 7:00 a.m. it opened. In this school, we have six polling stations with a total of 5,114 eligible voters. The process is going well so far. The turnout has been low, but since it’s early morning, I believe the number will increase as the day goes on,” he said.

From this electoral process, citizens of Deçan expect positive changes that will better serve their needs.

Arif Ulaj, a resident of Deçan, said he hopes for positive changes from today’s municipal elections.

“We expect something better, if possible to improve things… Deçan has many needs, but hopefully some of them can be addressed,” he said.

Another resident, Ibrahim Lushaj, also expects changes in the governance of Deçan.

“Yes, we voted… I expect there will be changes, but it seems things might stay the same. The residents of Deçan have many needs, even though most of them have been met, there is still more to be done,” Lushaj emphasized.

Running for mayor of Deçan are: Faton Selmanaj from Vetëvendosje Movement, Jetmir Prekalla from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Jeton Mushkolaj from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Bashkim Ramosaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Natyra Kuçi from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Shkumbin Demakuja from the Democracy Initiative, and Shefqet Tolaj from Guxo.

In the municipality of Deçan, 43,759 citizens have the right to vote — 41,444 of them within Kosovo and 2,320 from the diaspora. /B.Ibishi/