Davenport: OSCE is ready to collect votes of Serbs in Kosovo, but conditions are currently not in place

Michael Davenport, the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Pristina, stated for Kosovo Online that the mission was ready to engage in collecting votes from Serbian voters who would participate in the extraordinary parliamentary elections scheduled for December 17th in Kosovo, but only if certain conditions were met.

"OSCE is ready to carry out the collection of ballots from voters in Serbian elections who would vote in Kosovo, as was the case in previous elections, provided that the same conditions are in place. These conditions primarily include consensus on the approach from all concerned, support from Kosovo institutions, and, crucially, there needs to be security support from the Kosovo Police to secure the voting process," Davenport stated.

Where Serbian citizens living in Kosovo will cast their votes on December 17th will depend on the fulfillment of these conditions.

"At the moment, those conditions do not seem to be in place. Of course, there are logistical and budgetary considerations. We stand ready to do it, but at the moment, the conditions are not met," Davenport emphasized.

Through the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, Serbia requested that the OSCE organize Serbian parliamentary elections scheduled for December 17th on the territory of Kosovo. This entails the OSCE mission being involved in organizing and conducting elections in Kosovo, delivering election materials to polling stations, as well as collecting and transporting ballots after the voting, in accordance with the procedures applied in previous electoral processes in Kosovo until 2020.

After that, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sent a letter to Davenport stating that "Serbia should propose a specific agreement in order to enable the Serbian community in Kosovo to participate in the December elections."