Name of Serb list in Kosovo elections changed

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, BELGRADE Head of the Kosovo District Vladeta Kostic says the "amended name" of the single Serb candidate list for the local elections in Kosovo had been accepted. He told Tanjug the Kosovo Central Election Commission accepted over the weekend the name of the list, changed from "Civic Initiative Serbia" to "Civic Serb Initiative." Name of Serb list in Kosovo elections changed Kostic said Serbs would run in the elections on November 3 under that name. The commission said earlier that the single Serb list, which is supported by the Serbian government and and Oliver Ivanovic's candidate list entitled Serbia, Democracy, Justice, "could not keep the word Serbia in their names." "The (new) name still points to our strong links with the Serbian government," Kostic was quoted as saying. Minister Without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin described the commission's decision as a bad political signal. "In coordination with the Serbs in Kosovo, we will accept that decision, unwillingly, but we will accept it because we wish to run in the elections, because... we will not allow someone else to decide in our name," Vulin stated. The Kosovo Electoral Commission has requested that the word "Serbia" be removed from the names of two Serb tickets which will run in local elections there, Serbian national TV reported on Sept. 14. On September 15, Oliver Ivanovic said that he regretted that Serb ticket representatives had "scurried to accept" the commission's decision to bar the word "Serbia" from the names of the Serb tickets, which he said was an independent decision reached on their part. "It is truly sad that they changed the names without any coordination with us which consequently weakened our position. It shows that there is no work method, regardless of the fact that Serbia's ruling parties and Belgrade's entire administrative apparatus back" the other ticket, Ivanovic told Beta. Ivanovic also sent a letter to the OSCE Office in Kosovska Mitrovica, stressing that the decision "could affect how voters felt." (B92, file) Beta Tanjug

Name of Serb list in Kosovo elections changed

Kostić said Serbs would run in the elections on November 3 under that name.

The commission said earlier that the single Serb list, which is supported by the Serbian government and and Oliver Ivanović's candidate list entitled Serbia, Democracy, Justice, "could not keep the word Serbia in their names."

"The (new) name still points to our strong links with the Serbian government," Kostić was quoted as saying.

Minister Without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo Aleksandar Vulin described the commission's decision as a bad political signal.

"In coordination with the Serbs in Kosovo, we will accept that decision, unwillingly, but we will accept it because we wish to run in the elections, because... we will not allow someone else to decide in our name," Vulin stated.

The Kosovo Electoral Commission has requested that the word "Serbia" be removed from the names of two Serb tickets which will run in local elections there, Serbian national TV reported on Sept. 14.

On September 15, Oliver Ivanović said that he regretted that Serb ticket representatives had "scurried to accept" the commission's decision to bar the word "Serbia" from the names of the Serb tickets, which he said was an independent decision reached on their part.

"It is truly sad that they changed the names without any coordination with us which consequently weakened our position. It shows that there is no work method, regardless of the fact that Serbia's ruling parties and Belgrade's entire administrative apparatus back" the other ticket, Ivanović told Beta.

Ivanović also sent a letter to the OSCE Office in Kosovska Mitrovica, stressing that the decision "could affect how voters felt."