The Head of the EU Office and the heads of the EU member states missions in Kosovo underlined the importance of transparent, credible and inclusive elections.
“We call on Kosovo institutions to act in accordance with international standards, free from political pressure and to respect the decisions of the Central Election Commission and the judiciary,” the joint statement reads.
EU member states representatives encourage the citizens of Kosovo to exercise their right to vote while respecting all measures against COVID-19 pandemic.
They also mentioned the election of the president, as Kosovo is left with an Acting President since November.
“We firmly stand by our enduring strong partnership with Kosovo. We stand ready to engage with the elected members of the Assembly. We trust that a President will be elected swiftly by the new Assembly and a new government will be formed, in a timely manner, in order to promote further reforms and development, fight corruption, strengthen the rule of law and take forward the European future of Kosovo including the continuation of the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina,” EU representatives said.
The EU has sent an Election Expert Mission (EEM) to Kosovo covering the entire process of preparation of elections, voting and counting, including the appeals phase.
The EEM will prepare a report on the elections including recommendations on how to further improve and strengthen the electoral process.
“We look forward to discussing the implementation of the recommendations of the successive European Union Election Observation Missions’ reports with the Kosovo authorities after the elections. We invite all parties to step up their work after the elections in order to implement such recommendations,” statement reads.
Snap parliamentary elections in Kosovo are set to be held on Sunday.
