Kosovo Prepared for June General Elections

Ahead of national polls due next month, the election commission in Kosovo said everything was in place for the country to hold free and fair elections.
The Central Election Commission of Kosovo, CEC, is continuing preparations for the upcoming general elections, which will be held across the country on June 8. Enis Halimi, executive chief of the CEC secretariat said they “have made all necessary activities and operations in order to ensure that everyone can use his civic and political right to vote”. Halimi spoke during a round-table discussion on “The necessity of a regular election process”, organized by the Kosovo ombudsperson. The last national elections in 2010 were criticized by international institutions and observers. The EU Kosovo Progress Report, published in 2011, noted “serious shortcomings in the electoral process. “Kosovo needs to deal more decisively with cases of electoral fraud. Kosovo needs to address the shortcomings and to ensure political will at all levels to conduct fair elections at every stage of the process”, the report said. In connection with the last national elections, municipal prosecutors raised 232 indictments for electoral fraud against 1.456 people. It remains unclear how many of these were actually convicted. Sami Kurteshi, Kosovo's ombudsman, urged prosecutors to ensure that all violations of the law during the elections were addressed. “The prosecutors should also follow the public debates of party candidates and investigate all accusations”, he said. It remains unclear how many Serbian parties will participate in the national polls. The deadline to apply for certification at the Central Election Commission expires on May 16.