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Report of the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, to the OSCE Permanent Council 6 February 2014

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Report of the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, to the OSCE Permanent Council 6 February 2014 PC.FR/1/14 30 January 2014 OSCE+ ENGLISH only Report of the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jean-Claude Schlumberger, to the OSCE Permanent Council 6 February 2014 1. Major developments in Kosovo1 The dominant topic of the reporting period was the continued dialogue between Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade facilitated in Brussels by the European Union. On 8 September Prime Ministers Hashim Thaçi and Ivica Dačić reached an agreement on telecommunications and energy. The prime ministers met again in Brussels on 7 October, discussing modalities surrounding the 3 November local elections in Kosovo. As the facilitator for the conduct of the elections in northern Kosovo, the OSCE participated in the meeting to inform the prime ministers about the preparation process. On 5 and 13 December – just ahead of the EU Ministerial Council of 17 December, where the Council was expected to announce its decision on the date for opening accession negotiations with Serbia, European Union High Representative (EUHR) Catherine Ashton hosted another meeting of the prime ministers in Brussels to discuss the further implementation of the 19 April 2013 First Agreement of principles governing normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Prishtinë/Priština. An agreement was reached on the modalities of integrating Kosovo Serb security personnel into Kosovo Police. On 13 December the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the first employment contracts were signed with former members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP). On 14 December the Kosovo government announced the commencement of the implementation of the agreement on customs and the collection of VAT and excise taxes at the northern Kosovo crossing points in Jarinje (Gate 1, Leposavić/Leposaviq) and Brnjak (Gate 31, Zubin Potok), whose revenues, according to the implementation plan of the 19 April Agreement, are to be channelled into a development fund for northern Kosovo. Progress was also made in the implementation of the agreement on civil registry, reached on 2 July 2011. As of December 2013, EULEX has handed over 10,121 copies, out of a total of approximately 12,000 original civil registry books.2 Technical working group meetings resumed in Brussels in early January 2014 to define procedural details with regard to the inauguration of the municipal assemblies of the four northern municipalities, as well as the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo. On 3 November mayoral and municipal assembly elections took place throughout Kosovo. No major incidents or irregularities were reported south of the river Ibar. On 1 December run-offs for mayoral elections were held in 25 municipalities.3 No major irregularities were reported, except for in Parteš/Partesh municipality, where the second round of mayoral elections had to be repeated on 15 December in one polling centre, comprising three polling stations, in light of incidents on 1 December in which sensitive materials at these polling stations were severely damaged. The 19 April Agreement also stipulated that local elections in northern Kosovo are to be facilitated by the OSCE. The OSCE was thus entrusted with chairing the meetings of the Working Group on 1 All references to Kosovo institutions/leaders refer to the Provisional Institutions of Self Government. 2 The copies of civil registry books are produced and certified as part of an EU funded project based in Niš, involving EULEX, the EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR, the Danish Refugee Council as the implementing partner, and representatives from Belgrade and Prishtinë/Priština. Following the handover to the Kosovo Civil Registration Agency, the certified copies are hardcover bound in Prishtinë/Priština and subsequently handed over to the local municipal institutions for everyday use in the municipal civil status offices. 3 According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the overall turnout throughout Kosovo in the first round was 46.31 percent and in the second round 40.31 percent. 11403/14nn Elections, composed of relevant representatives of Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade, taking place in the framework of the EU-facilitated dialogue process in the period June-November 2013. In line with the 19 April Agreement and the subsequent conclusions of the Working Group on Elections, the OSCE conducted numerous activities within its facilitation role and in support to the Central Election Commission (CEC), including the local election management structures. The OSCE provided facilitation in the following areas: establishment of municipal election management bodies and provision of advice to these bodies on a daily basis, key activities related to voter services, by-mail voting for displaced persons residing in different areas of Serbia and Montenegro, political entity certification, and voter information, The first round of municipal and mayoral elections in northern Kosovo was also held on 3 November. On the day, the OSCE deployed 240 facilitators to 94 polling stations in the four northern Kosovo municipalities. Voting proceeded with no significant incidents reported until around 16.45 hrs, when a group of around 30 masked men stormed into the polling centre Sveti Sava in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North and destroyed ballot boxes and other election materials, exhibiting hostility towards the OSCE and local election staff and throwing tear gas. A similar scenario happened at the Technical School polling centre in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North, with indications that it might be repeated at the polling centre Medical School in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North. The OSCE facilitators withdrew from the three schools. At 18.00 hrs, the security situation further deteriorated when a group of extremists gathered outside the biggest polling centre in Zvečan/Zveçan municipality, throwing stones at OSCE and EULEX vehicles and also exhibiting hostility. At 18.30hrs, the OSCE closed the polling stations in all three remaining northern municipalities and took custody of election materials. The OSCE facilitators, escorted by EULEX and KFOR, made their way safely to the hubs south of the river Ibar. Election materials from the municipalities of Leposavić/Leposaviq, Zubin Potok, Zvečan/Zveçan, and from the non-attacked centres in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North were subsequently delivered to the CEC. The CEC called for a re-vote in the three attacked centres in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North, which was held on 17 November with the facilitation of 60 OSCE staff deployed to the locations. Kosovo Police, EULEX and KFOR significantly enhanced their presence at the voting locations and the re-vote was held without significant incident. On 1 December run-off mayoral elections were held in Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North and a re-vote was held at the polling centre in Zvečan/Zveçan which had been attacked on 3 November, following a complaint by a political entity leading the CEC to call for a re-vote. The OSCE deployed 110 facilitators and the three security responders maintained an enhanced security presence near all voting locations. Voting on 1 December was also conducted without incident. The overall turnout for the four northern Kosovo municipalities was above 25 percent. Candidates from Citizen Initiative Srpska (GIS) won the mayoral positions in all four municipalities: Leposavić/Leposaviq (Dragan Jablanović), Zubin Potok (Stevan Vulović), Zvečan/Zveçan (Vučina Janković) and Mitrovica/Mitrovicë North (Krstimir Pantić). On 12 December the CEC certified the final results of the second round of mayoral elections on 1 December, as well as the results of the elections for municipal assemblies, which took place on 3 November along with the first round of mayoral elections. On 16 December it also certified final results for mayoral elections in Parteš/Partesh municipality. According to the final certified results the overall turnout in the 3 November local elections was 46.31 percent, representing a slight increase in participation in comparison to the 2009 elections (with a turnout of 45.36 percent). According to a preliminary statement of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM), the elections were a “positive step forward for democracy in Kosovo”. In most of Kosovo, Election Day passed calmly and peacefully, with people expressing their democratic right to vote, including in most areas of northern Kosovo, despite attempts by opponents of the elections to dissuade people from voting there. The EU EOM further stated that the OSCE Mission played a crucial role in facilitating the elections in the north, as well as out-of-Kosovo postal voting from different areas of Serbia and Montenegro. 2 The elections brought changes in the leadership of several municipalities. Isa Mustafa, President of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and incumbent mayor of Prishtinë/Priština, lost the run-off to Shpend Ahmeti from the Vetëvendosje (‘Self-Determination’) Movement. The leading government coalition member, Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), and the third largest party in Kosovo, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), also lost the leading position in several municipalities they previously held. For the first time, a woman has been elected mayor, with Mimoza Kuzari-Lila of the Alliance for New Kosovo (AKR), who is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry, winning elections in Gjakovë/Đakovica. The breakdown in terms of mayoral positions per party is the following: Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) - 10 municipalities (down from 14 won in 2009 elections),
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