Dimitrijevic: CEC is doing everything to make the referendum difficult for the Serbs in the north

Former president of the Municipal Election Commission Slobodan Dimitrijevic tells Kosovo Online that the new election procedures prescribed by the Central Election Commission are making it difficult for those who want to participate in this vote, and regarding the voter registration procedure for postal voting, he says it is an additional complication.

"These procedures can significantly affect the success of the referendum. We know the situation and that there is a large migration of people from northern Kosovo to central Serbia, and we also know the reasons for their migration. The question arises for those who devised this procedure for postal voting registration: did they think everyone should be familiar with working on computers and mobile phones?" Dimitrijevic asks, emphasizing that the way the referendum was announced is unlawful.

"In my opinion, this referendum is unlawful, as best seen in the law amended last year, and the electoral instructions were amended on March 6 of this year. Authorities in Pristina are inventing electoral rules as it suits them at any given moment. Voting used to be different. People who were displaced due to various problems used to be able to vote much more easily. Now, that won't be the case for this referendum," Dimitrijevic said.

According to the instructions issued by the Central Election Commission, in order to participate in postal voting, citizens who are not currently in municipalities in northern Kosovo must take a photo where their face is clearly visible, holding their Kosovo ID card at chest height. After that, they should send this photo by mail, and if the CEC accepts it, these citizens will be registered as voters, and only then will they be allowed to vote by post.

Currently, people who have left their homes due to extremely difficult living conditions and fear of arrest do not reside in northern Kosovo. They are given a six-day deadline to exercise their right to vote by post for the referendum. It is worth noting that the verification of signatures of people who signed the petition for the dismissal of the mayor lasted for 45 days.

Dimitrijevic says that two postal services do not cooperate, and no mail from Serbia can reach Kosovo. He also reminds that previous votes of Serbs who voted by post were disregarded and did not contribute to the final results.

"It wouldn't surprise me if something like what happened in previous processes occurred, where votes from Serbia arrived and were kept in a former 'Grmija' building and allegedly contaminated with anthrax or something similar. Those votes were rejected; for those Pristina, those votes did not exist, so it wouldn't surprise me if these votes don't enter the results at all," he recalls.

According to Dimitrijevic, the way the Municipal Election Commission was appointed is also questionable.

"In the case of appointing the MEC, the law was violated. For the first time, in addition to the president of the Election Commission, a deputy president of the MEC was appointed, and this appointment was made by the CEC secretariat's decision. Those of us familiar with electoral processes know that the MEC makes all decisions by majority vote. The question arises whether the deputy has the right to vote. After all, in a place where 90 percent of the population is Serbian, you bring in a person from South Mitrovica. Let someone just give a reason. Does the president, who is Serbian, not know his job? No, he has even more experience than the person appointed as deputy," Dimitrijevic concluded.