No Kosovo 'state symbols' in local election ballots: CEC

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No Kosovo 'state symbols' in local election ballots: CEC

(Xinhua) 08:16, September 03, 2013

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PRISTINA, Sept. 2 -- The Central Election Commission (CEC) in Kosovo decided on Monday to remove the so-called "state symbols" in the ballots of forthcoming Nov. 3 municipal elections.

The decision follows a tense debate on whether the CEC should remove the denomination "Republic of Kosovo" and the "state logo" from the ballots.

"The Central Election Commission has decided to put only CEC logo in the ballots for municipal elections of November 3," the institution announced in a press release.

The meeting was initially scheduled for the morning but commenced only late in afternoon obviously due to the sensitivity of the decision.

The move has political dimension as it aims to encourage Serbs in the disputed north of Kosovo participate in the elections organised by Pristina.

Belgrade was clear in its position that it will call Serbs in the north of Kosovo to participate in the elections only if the symbols of "the Kosovo state" are removed from the ballots.

Serbs from the north have rejected so far Kosovo's institutions and since 2003 did their own local elections separately from Pristina. A breakthrough is likely to happen this autumn since prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Hashim Thaqi and Ivica Dacic, have reached deals on a number of issues during the EU-facilitated dialogue, including the compromise on Nov. 3 elections.

Two out of 11 CEC members rejected the decision. The representative of opposition Self-determination movement in the CEC, Adnan Rrustemi, walked out of the meeting as the motion was put forward for voting.

He told media that "by removing state symbols the CEC denies the sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo," and that he's party will legally confront the decision at the Constitutional Court.

Fadil Maloku, the other CEC member wrote in his facebook account that "in an AD HOC meeting the CEC formally fulfilled the demand of Serbian state not to have present in the ballots the logo of Kosovo state."

However, Bajram Latifi, another CEC member said the decision is in accordance with Kosovo's legal framework.

Earlier in the day Kosovo leader Atifete Jahjaga called on the CEC to act in line with "the constitutional mandate" and take a decision related to the content of the ballots. The same did Thaqi's ruling PDK party saying that the most important thing for Kosovo at this moment is the broad participation of all communities in the elections.

Kosovo, a Serbian province, unilaterally declared independence in 2008. Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent country. However, the EU set it as a precondition for Serbia's EU aspirations that the country must normalize relations with neighbors, especially Kosovo.