The US Embassy to Prishtina has commented on the failure of the voting process for the removal or not of the Albanian mayors in the four municipalities in the north, after the call of the Serbian List and the official Belgrade for a boycott by the citizens. A spokesman for the US embassy said that the vote was called for as a result of successful citizen-initiative efforts within the existing legal framework and validated by the Central Election Commission.

He said the US position on Kosova remains clear and unchanged. “We support Kosova’s diverse, inclusive, multi-ethnic democracy and the free, fair and legitimate elections that support it.”

“In accordance with its legal requirements, Kosova held a vote for the removal of the 4 mayors on April 21 in four municipalities in the north of Kosova. As Ambassador Hovenier and other US government officials have repeatedly said, we believe it is important that the citizens of Kosova have the possibility to exercise their right to remove elected officials in accordance with Kosova’s legal framework, if they decide to do this,” said the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Prishtina.

Furthermore, he recalled that the Quint countries and the EU called on the Serbian List and other Kosova Serb political actors on April 10 to reconsider their positions to withdraw from participating in this legal vote for the withdrawal of the mayors. “We regret that they did not do such a thing and therefore did not fully utilize the democratic means available to them according to Kosovar law to advance effective and representative democracy. Democratic participation helps ensure that leaders are representative of the populations they serve. Voting is a critical freedom of democratic societies,” said the embassy spokesperson.

The United States and its partners have closely followed the voting process in the four municipalities in the north, recalling that the Kosova Central Election Commission (CEC) appealed to all eligible voters and that they appreciate the efforts made by Kosovar election officials to allow all Kosovar citizens registered in the four municipalities to participate in this democratic process. “We understand from international observation teams that there was extremely low voter turnout. Therefore, there is no decision by the voters to recall the mayors. The mayors of the municipalities in the country were elected and remain in place, according to the legal framework of Kosova,” concluded the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Prishtina.

/a.p./