U.S. Embassy: All citizens of Kosovo must have the opportunity to choose their representatives

The U.S. Embassy in Pristina stated today, following the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) not to approve the participation of the Serb List in the upcoming local elections, that all citizens of Kosovo must have the opportunity to choose their representatives. The Embassy, in its response to Kosovo Online, also noted that comments by political leaders that further politicize the process are not helpful.

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Ana Pratipati conveyed Washington’s position yesterday to Kosovo’s Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

“Chargé d’Affaires Pratipati clearly conveyed the U.S. position on election certification during her meeting with Acting Prime Minister Kurti. All citizens of Kosovo must have the opportunity to choose their representatives. It is of particular importance that Kosovo Serbs are included in this process,” the U.S. Embassy stated.

The Embassy added that it trusts Kosovo’s institutions and mechanisms to ensure that the candidate certification process remains free from politicization.

“Comments by political leaders that further politicize this process are not useful and undermine the integrity of the electoral process in Kosovo,” the U.S. Embassy emphasized.

The Serb List today submitted an appeal to the Election Complaints and Appeals Panel against the CEC decision not to certify its participation in the local elections.