Votes being counted in Serb-dominated Kosovo town
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 18 November 2013 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Votes being counted in Serb-dominated Kosovo town, 18 November 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52e658e6d.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Comments | All reference to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 18, 2013
By RFE/RL
An electoral staff member waits for voters at a polling station in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica on November 17.
PRISTINA – Votes are being counted in a Serb-dominated part of Kosovo after a previous vote there was annulled due to violence.
Voters went to the polls on November 17 to elect a local mayor and councilors at three polling stations in northern Mitrovica where masked Serbian ultranationalists destroyed ballot boxes and intimidated voters during the previous election on November 3.
There were no incidents during the rerun of the vote. Kosovo authorities said voter turnout was over 22 percent.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on November 18 the peaceful election was "an important part of the moving forward of Kosovo and Serbia" on the path toward European integration.
Preliminary results are expected late on November 19.
Authorities ramped up security ahead of the elections to deter attempts to harass voters or invalidate ballots.
Increased numbers of Kosovar police and security officers from the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), along with NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo (KFOR), were deployed at the polling stations.
Mitrovica is split into an ethnic Albanian south and a Serb north and has often been a flashpoint of ethnic clashes.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and RFE/RL's Balkan Service
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
