Doc. 8891

15 November 2000

Ad hoc Committee to observe the municipal elections in Kosovo (28 October 2000)

Report

Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur: Mrs Ans Zwerver, Netherlands, Socialist Group

I.       Introduction

1. On 26 June 2000, the Committee of Ministers accepted the invitations of Mr Bernard Kouchner, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and Mr Daan Everts, Head of the OSCE Mission to Kosovo, to oversee the international observation of the municipal elections in Kosovo.

2. As a result, and following the proposals of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Walter Schwimmer, the Council of Europe Election Observation Mission (CEEOM), headed by Mr Victor Ruffy and his deputy Head of Mission, Mr Owen Masters, was set up in Pristina on 1 July with the aim to observe the registration phase, the electoral campaign as well as the municipal elections in Kosovo on 28 October. The CEEOM has 7 staff members.

3. As from early July 17, long-term observers (LTO) assessed the final phase of the voter registration (registration phase: 17 April to 19 July) as well as the pre-election period (electoral campaign: 13 September – 26 October) Kosovo-wide and also in the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, where Kosovar Albanians were able to vote.

4. On 7 September 2000, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to observe the elections in Kosovo in the framework of the CEEOM. At the suggestion of the political groups, the Bureau subsequently set up an ad hoc committee with the following membership:

5. The members of the ad hoc committee visited around 50 polling stations in the following areas: Pristina centre, Fushë Kosovo/Kosovo Polje, Obiliç, Mitrovica and Prizren.

6. The observation mission started on 24 October with a two days briefing in Skopje and a complementary regional briefing in the region where the observers were deployed. After Election Day, a debriefing session was held in Skopje, and two press conferences took place in Pristina. On Election Day, a total of 150 short-term observers (STO) from 20 countries were deployed all over Kosovo.

7. The detailed programme of activities of the visit of the ad hoc committee to Kosovo is reproduced in Appendix 1.

8. The President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Lord Russell-Johnston, visited Kosovo from 22 to 24 October 2000, met with political party leaders Mr Rugova and Mr Thaci, the KFOR Commander, Lt General Cabigiousu, as well as with the SRSG Mr Kouchner and DSRSG Mr Everts. The President opened the CEEOM training of the short-term observers in Skopje on 24 October.

II.        The stake of the Kosovo elections

9. Sixteen month after the United Nations Security Council decided (Resolution 1244, para. 11,c) that “the main responsibilities of the international civil presence will include organising and overseeing the development of provisional institutions for democratic and autonomous self-government pending a political settlement, including the holding of elections” the population in Kosovo was offered democratic and internationally supervised local elections.

10. The weight and the dynamics of the whole electoral process, including the registration of the population represented without any doubt an equal challenge to the local population as to the international community present in Kosovo.

11. The Kosovars could, for the first time, actively and democratically participate in the building of representative structures at local level. Municipal management was, since the presence of UNMIK administration, run by an appointed tandem structure of local and international administrators. Some elections were organised during the last ten years in a parallel system by the Kosovar Albanians, but they were held in a clandestine way and were not internationally recognised.

12. For the international UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which has the authority over the territory and the population of Kosovo, including all legislative and executive powers as well as the administration and the judiciary, the election represented a challenge to their ability to manage Kosovo’s path to a self-governed democracy. For the OSCE, who was in charge of the organisation and the supervision of the elections in Kosovo, Election Day represented a landmark in their overall task to “take the lead role in matters relating to institution and democracy-building and human rights”.

13. One of the most sensitive dilemmas of the election was the announcement of the non-participation of the Serb community in the elections and the absence of Serb political parties registered before the deadline of 2 June 2000. The Kosovar Serbs, who represented less than 10% of the voters, decided to boycott the whole election process, including registration and election. Most of the 100,000 Kosovar Serbs remaining in the region live in highly protected enclaves in Kosovo, or in the Northern part and region of Mitrovica. 150,000 Kosovar Serbs, who left after June 1999, have not returned to Kosovo.

14. It was therefore impossible to meet all the conditions for the holding of elections set in the “Rambouillet Agreement”. Freedom of movement, requested for all citizens of Kosovo, is de facto only assured for the Kosovo Albanian community, who represented the large majority on Election Day.

15. By anticipating the absence of Kosovar Serbs in the elections, the challenge was not to allow this community to exercise an effective veto on the elections as a whole and to continue the election process without them, and at the same time, to already envisage a Serb participation in the democratically newly elected structures of Kosovo after the elections.

16. The closely related but politically different second sensitive issue was the participation of other communities, Roma, Ashkaelia, Egyptians, Muslim Slavs, Gorani, Kosovo Turks and Croats in the elections - and in the future administrative structures of Kosovo. For a long period, some minority representatives have participated in the JIAS (Joint Interim Administrative Structure). However, the largest Kosovo Turkish party decided not to take part in the registration process and could therefore not take part in the elections.

17. Furthermore, the security concern was high after the announcement, in August, of the election date. Political violence and intimidation had increased over the summer period, not only at domestic level, but also directed at the international administration. On 18 August a bomb exploded at the OSCE’s Political Party Service Centre, in the centre of Pristina.

18. The events in neighbouring Serbia before and after the elections on 24 September influenced the preparations of the elections. However, Kosovar Albanian politicians, regardless of their political appurtenance, noticed no significant change after the election of Vojislav Kostunica as President of Yugoslavia.

19. Some issues had a demoralising rather than encouraging effect on the pre-electoral climate. First, no significant step was taken by the new Yugoslav authorities in the direction of the liberation, before the elections, of Kosovar Albanians which are still detained for political reasons in Serbia. Secondly, it was feared that independence, the political credo of all political parties in Kosovo, was less achievable – and internationally recognisable. The clear and somewhat overwhelming signs of political support by the international community for Mr Kostunica, combined with a serious budgetary assistance, underlined a potential new strategy for peace in the Balkans.

III. The political parties

20. The following 24 political parties took part in the elections: Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK); Bosniacs Party of Democratic Action of Kosovo (BSDAK); Democratic Reform Party of Muslims (DRSM); Citizens’ Initiative of Gora (GIG); Citizens’ Initiative The Independents of Mitrovica (IOPM); The Coalition for Independence (KP); Turkish People’s Party of Kosovo (KTHP); Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK); The Albanian National Democratic Movement (LNDSH); Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Turk Community (MTT); National Democratic Front of Kosovo (PBKD); Ashkali Albanian Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDASh); Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK); Green Party of Kosovo (PGJK); Liberal Democratic Party of Kosovo (PLDK); Liberal Party of Kosovo (PLK); Albanian National Democratic Party (PNDSH); Liberal Center Party of Kosovo (POLK); Republican Party of Kosovo (PRK); Albanian Republican Party (PRSH); Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSDK); Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSHDK); Party of Democratic Action of Kosovo (SDA); Social Democratic Union (USD).

IV.       Municipal Competences182

21. The regulation for municipal self-government established 30 municipalities, based, except for the municipality of Malishevo, on the previous territorial boundaries of both the parallel Albanian administrations, and the Obstinas of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. There is a provision within the local government regulations, for the municipality to delegate activities and responsibilities to villages and neighbourhoods, however municipalities must provide the appropriate resources.

22. Furthermore, representatives of all ethnic groups can be appointed to the Communities Committee of the Municipality, and this should go some way to redressing the fact that elections will not take place at village and neighbourhood level.

23. Municipalities are the basic territorial unit of local self-government, as established by regulation 2000/45 of the United Nation Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The Regulation ensures that the municipal assembly is the highest representative body in the municipality and is directly elected at this election.

24. The municipality will be responsible for providing and controlling public services including social services and primary health care. The provision of local public utilities and infrastructure including water supply, sewage treatment, waste management, local roads, fire and emergency services. In addition, the municipality is responsible for urban and rural planning, the licensing of building and other development, and the provision of education. The municipality has the authority to raise revenue through local taxes, in the form of the licensing of services and facilities which will include entertainment, fairs and markets, taxis, hunting and fishing, restaurants and hotels. A municipality may also raise revenue from fines, and income from municipal assets such as property or land.

25. However, the Central Authority of Kosovo, following the municipalities’ programme of activities and economic management for the coming year, will allocate the major source of finance for the municipality. Funds should be made available to meet the expenditure requirements of the municipality for the fiscal year.

26. More information may be obtained from the very detailed report “Council of Europe Election Mission Observation in Kosovo: second report”, SG/Inf(2000)40 of 26 October (www.coe.int/sg/e) from which this information is quoted.

V.       The organisation of the elections

27. It should not be forgotten that the elections were prepared in a climate of post-war reconstruction and confidence building and that the efforts of the electoral administration, including UNMIK, OSCE, the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) and of the observers have to be assessed in this light.

28. Technically, preparations proved to be very difficult in living up to the high technical standards that election organisation and observation require. This could already be witnessed during the registration process, which basically had to start from the ground up and which faced continuously new challenges, namely in the collection of accurate and verifiable data and the processing of it, the production of material and the communication.

29. The 901,000 registered voters in Kosovo had to cast their ballots for nearly 5,500 candidates, for 920 seats in the 30 municipal assemblies. All voters of 18 years of age and over on 1 October 2000 who registered to vote and who could be identified at the Polling Station had the right to cast a ballot.

30. The Municipal Electoral Law, established by UNMIK in July (Regulation 2000/39 on the Municipal Elections in Kosovo) provided the basic provisions governing the conduct of elections. The elections were conducted by an open list proportional representation system, which gave the voter a choice of candidates. They could vote for a political party, an independent candidate or a citizen’s initiative. They could also vote for the candidate within the candidate’s list of an apolitical party or a coalition’s candidates’ list. Parties would receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the vote.

31. The candidate’s lists were to include at least 30 % of women in the first 15 candidates, with one candidate at least among the first three.

32. Throughout Kosovo, 380 Polling Centres, consisting of 1,464 Polling Stations (PS) were set up. Polling Centres had from one to 17 Polling Stations. Around 750 voters were registered in a regular PS. In each Polling Centre, Absentee or Twin Polling Stations provided voting facilities through conditional ballots for Internally Displaced Persons and returnees to Kosovo.

33. A Central Election Commission (CEC) was set up for a term of office of 2 years by UNMIK Regulation 2000/21. It is composed of 9 Kosovar members and 3 international members. Chaired by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Institution Building, the chairperson, members, and alternates are appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. The CEC is responsible for overseeing the conduct and the supervision of the election.

34. In each municipality a Municipal election Commission (MEC) was set up in order to assist, under the supervision and the direction of the OSCE and the Central Election Commission, in the administration of the elections, ensuring the efficiency and legitimacy of the conduct of elections within their jurisdiction. In addition to this, it provided assistance and information to voters and candidates. MEC’s had between 3 and 5 members, depending of the population of the municipality; the number of polling stations; and the geographical size.

35. An Election Complaints and Appeals Sub Commission (ECAC) was set up as a sub-Commission to the CEC. It was responsible for the adjudication on all complaints related to violation of the electoral rules.

36. The Polling Station Committee (PSC) was set up by the OSCE, in consultation with the concerned MEC. The PEC was composed of a chairperson and 4 members, operating under the OSCE International Supervisor.

VI.       Evaluation of the voting day

37. The members of the ad hoc committee participated in the CEEOM evaluation session of the election, which was organised in Skopje on 29 October.

38. The ad hoc committee shares the views expressed by the Council of Europe Election Observation Mission which stated on 29 October (see Appendix 2) that the elections were carried out in a calm and peaceful atmosphere, with very few incidents of intimidation and that the results so far indicated that the elections seemed to have been carried out in accordance with the international standards of democracy.

39. Your Rapporteur believes that Election Day was one of the most calm and secure days in Kosovo and that the very high turn-out was a remarkable sign for democracy in Kosovo.

40. At the same time although the Rapporteur recognises the enormous task and general success of OSCE organising and running the elections in Kosovo, some minor incidents during the voting or shortcomings due to the organisation of the polling centres (PC) or polling stations (PS) should be reported. If they did not significally harm the voting process or influence the results, they often contributed to confusion among voters or caused unacceptable delays in the voting procedure. The following - not exhaustive - points reached consensus among the short term observers during the debriefing session:

VII.       Results of the elections

41. OSCE claimed that the voter turnout was around 80 % and announced that partial results, after 90% of the vote counted, showed a victory for the party of the moderate ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), who had won approximately 58% of the vote. Hacim Thaci’s PDK obtained 27%. Whereas the AAK obtains 8% of the votes, the results for the remaining 21 parties, including minority parties, remained relatively insignificant.

42. The OSCE Counting Center in Pristina was still processing absentee and out-of-country voters’ ballots, as well as the ballots of those who participated in the Mission’s Special Needs Voting Programme. OSCE will release more detailed results after about 5-7 days following the elections. The final election outcome and seat allocations will be certified about 10-12 days after the voting.

VIII.       Conclusions

43. The Rapporteur expresses her admiration for those who voted actively and peacefully in Kosovo on 28 October. The Election Day is the first of many important steps they took for the democratic development of their region.

44. The Rapporteur wishes to highlight the constructive and positive role the Council of Europe’s CEEOM played in the overall election process. As the OSCE prepared, organised and supervised the elections, it was appropriate to invite the Council of Europe to coordinate the observation process. The observation was done in an effective and impartial way, which contributed not only to the atmosphere during Election Day, but also to the political significance of the elections in Kosovo.

45. The Rapporteur regrets that, despite this important mandate of the Council of Europe, to observe the registration phase, the electoral campaign as well as the local elections on 28 October, its visibility in the international media was relatively low.

46. The Rapporteur acknowledges the important role of the international and domestic actors, under the UNMIK umbrella who have, despite political worries and logistical shortcomings, managed to carry out this very important election in Kosovo.

47. It was appropriate to first organise local elections, before a Kosovo-wide poll. The needs of the population in Kosovo, regardless their ethnic origins, are at local level. The momentum of the elections, however, should not be lost. Municipalities should now quickly become, as foreseen, basic and effective territorial units of local self-government with adequate funding to live up to these expectations and to carry out their tasks.

48. There is a fear that international attention is now diverted from Kosovo to Serbia, where elections will be held by the end of December. The new developments in Yugoslavia, including the United Nations General Assembly’s unanimous decision to admit Yugoslavia as a new U.N. member, cannot distract from the fact that the new Kosovar political leader, Ibrahim Rugova, needs international support for his party, LDK, which will be responsible for the huge task of management of the necessary structures at local level. Other parties should be assisted in building up their party structures.

49. Many of the tasks, including the control of public and local services and utilities including social services, primary health care, infrastructure such as water supply, sewage treatment, waste management, local roads, fire and emergency services, will not be easy to be carried out, as political and budgetary barriers might hamper projects and programmes at local level. Many new tasks will arise, such as the responsibility for the return of Albanian and Serb Kosovars to their homes, might be shifted, at medium term, to the municipalities, whilst budgetary provisions might not be sufficient.

50. It is foreseen that all communities are represented within the municipalities. Mr Kouchner has announced that he will designate Serb representatives in the municipalities where they represent a majority. The law on Municipalities allows the SRSG to appoint Serbs or minority representatives to municipal assemblies. This difficult and delicate process should be part of a close post-election observation process by the Council of Europe.

51. The Parliamentary Assembly should continue to be involved in this democratic process in Kosovo, in particular at the moment when its administration changes from a system of nominated delegates into a body of elected representatives. Special attention should be paid by the Assembly on the situation of minorities and their representation in the political life in Kosovo as well as on the role of women in the municipal structures. It is important to implement the provision of the Electoral Rule contained in Regulation 2000/39 that 30% of the first candidates of political parties, coalitions or citizens’ initiatives must be women.

52. The Assembly should further contribute that, on political and humanitarian levels, Kosovo will not cease to be a priority area in Europe. The municipal elections do not guarantee political stability Kosovo-wide, and security and the absence of freedom of movement are still serious concerns for a large part of the population in Kosovo.

53. The Assembly should promote dialogue between the new democratic forces in Kosovo and new political leaders in Belgrade. The elections in Kosovo will only have a long-term political validity if they are embedded in the framework of a common strategy for the stabilisation of the region.

Appendix 1

PROGRAMME

of the visit of the ad hoc Committee in Kosovo (23 – 30 October 2000)

Monday 23 October 2000

Afternoon       Arrival of the delegation in Skopje, Check in Hotel Continental

18:00       Meeting of the ad hoc Committee on the observation of municipal elections in Kosovo in Hotel Continental

19:00       Visit of the Council of Europe Office in Skopje

Tuesday 24 October and Wednesday 25 October

09:00       Opening of the training of the Short Term Observers by Lord Russell-Johnston, President of the Parliamentary Assembly

All day       Training in Skopje covering the following topics: Political and economic environment, political parties and main players, refugee situation, human rights, cultural environment, medical advice, media overview, electoral process (rules and regulations) polling centres, security and communication and mine awareness.

19:00:        Meeting of the ad hoc Committee on the observation of municipal elections in Kosovo in Hotel Continental

Monday 30 October 2000

09:00       Debriefing of the Short Term Observers

17:00       Press Conference (in Pristina)

Appendix 2

Press statements of 29 and 30 October 2000

COUNCIL OF EUROPE ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION

29 oct 2000

Statement on the Municipal Election in Kosovo

Election Press Briefing

The Council of Europe Election Observation Mission (CEEOM) can today confirm that yesterday’s election was carried out in a calm and peaceful atmosphere, with very few incidents of intimidation.

The very high turn-out was a great sign for democracy in Kosovo, with queues throughout the day at polling stations. In fact, the election became a victim of its own success, with people forced to wait in queues for up to two to three hours and reports of some polling stations staying open until midnight to accommodate the waiting voters. It was simply fortunate that the weather was good, since no provision was made for sheltering waiting voters.

Creation of large polling centres with many polling stations caused congestions and confusion.

The queues caused practical difficulties, with badly organised lines and poor physical access to many polling stations adding to people’s frustration. This problem was pointed out in 18% of our observers’ reports, which we consider regrettable. Observers also felt that more police presence was needed in polling centres – three officers were not enough.

A number of centres failed to respect the opening times. Many opened a quarter of an hour to a half an hour late, but two did not open until after 8am, which caused confusion.

Adding to voters’ frustration was the delay due to poorly organised identification. Much time was lost with picture identification, which could also have been in alphabetical order. This meant that a process, which should have taken just over one minute, was taking at the beginning up to ten to fifteen minutes.

The very high turnout meant that changes had to be made in the election procedure, creating confusion and chaos for many voters. Information on the extension in voting time was not given out until many polling stations were already closed. Calls for reopening and rumours of voting on Sunday added to the lack of clarity. Six per cent of observers noted agitation and unrest as a result of these practical problems.

Nonetheless we are pleased to report that only one per cent of our observers noted any intimidation. Three per cent of our observers saw evidence of votes not being cast in secret and 30% of reports showed cases of voting with more than one person present.

At present, the CEEOM has analysed 62 forms from the opening process, 841 for the whole day, and we are awaiting analysis from the closure of polling stations and the count. Our results so far indicate that the election seems to have been carried out in accordance with international standards of democracy, but final conclusions will be given when all results are in. The Council of Europe Election Observation Mission will present its final report during the course of next week.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION

2nd Statement on Municipal Elections in Kosovo

30. Oct. 2000

The debriefing today of the 150 observers of the Council of Europe Election Observation Mission (CEEOM) broadly confirmed the impression, we expressed yesterday of Saturday’s election.

There were as we pointed out yesterday some technical difficulties, but none of a magnitude and character, which compromised international standards for democratic elections.

The technical difficulties, which we observed, took place in spite of very competent and efficient election preparations. To us it looked like the practical organization of election centers and voting stations were not at the same high level as preparations for the elections.

All our observers confirmed congestion around voting centers in all regions of Kosovo. Likewise it was a general observation that very large polling centers with several polling stations was the reason for much confusion and congestion. Many observers also confirmed that a very large number of polling centers failed to respect the opening times with delays of up to half an hour. In one region two polling centers did not open until after 8 AM.

The congestion led to long waiting periods for many voters. In one location several hundred voters lost patience and gave up voting even before the polling center closed.

Our observers reported mixed participation of minorities. We have information from one location that Serbs cast their ballot. From other regions there were reports that both Roma and Bosniaks felt intimidated from voting.

But the very positive fact that there were no reports of violence must be underlined again, and on the whole the CEEOM found the behavior of the electorate on Election Day admirable with a high participation. This bodes well for the development of local democracy in Kosovo.

For these reasons the CEEOM was happy to participate in this event, which is a positive development not only for Kosovo, but also for the Balkans and Europe as a whole.

The CEEOM final report will be finished early next week.

182 source: SG/Inf (2000) 40