SERBIA: GOVERNMENT AGREES TO HOLD MAY ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000334 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: GOVERNMENT AGREES TO HOLD MAY ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO REF: BELGRADE 324 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Serbia's government agreed on April 3 to hold upcoming parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo. The government will now contact UNMIK to discuss the arrangements for the elections, which would be carried out by Serbia's Election Commission. End Summary. Elections Will Be Held in Kosovo -------------- ¶2. (SBU) At its weekly meeting on April 3, Serbia's caretaker government agreed to conduct parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo, scheduled for May 11. After the meeting, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) said that the government would now contact UNMIK regarding the elections, because of the complicated procedures involved. Kosovo Ministry advisor Stanko Blagojevic told poloff on April 4 that the GOS would discuss the elections with UNMIK, but that the expectation was that Serbia's Republican Election Commission (RIK) would conduct the elections in Kosovo. Contacts at the UN Office in Belgrade told poloff on April 4 that UNOB had not yet been contacted, but thought the GOS was trying to "walk a middle line" on elections. Elected Serb Officials Would Work With UNMIK, Not Pristina -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Blagojevic said that after the elections the local Serb officials would be able to deal with UNMIK. Newly elected officials would not deal with the government in Pristina, but could work with UNMIK, in accordance with UNSC 1244, Blagojevic said. Election Commission Waiting to Implement -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The RIK is waiting to hear from the government regarding the organization of elections in Kosovo. After the government decision the RIK held a session at which it defined the number and location of polling stations in Serbia without Kosovo (8245 locations),according to Dejan Miljvojevic, of the RIK. Miljvojevic told the Embassy on April 4 that the RIK also set a deadline of April 22 to receive recommendations for polling stations in Kosovo. By April 22, coordinators for the administrative counties in Kosovo would need to submit their proposals on polling stations to the RIK. Once it is established that certain technical conditions are met, the RIK should accept the proposed polling stations, Miljvojevic said. Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Serbian government, having now agreed to hold elections in Kosovo, intends to throw the issue to UNMIK in order to get the UN to buy in to the decision and to set the groundwork for UNMIK to recognize the local Serb leaders that will be elected in May. UNMIK's response will determine whether elections in Kosovo will in itself become a larger campaign issue, to the benefit of Samardzic and the DSS. End Comment. MUNTER