"Kosovska Mitrovica will have Serb mayor"

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA The preliminary results of the repeated elections show that the mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica will be a Serb, says Oliver Ivanovic. He also told Tanjug on Monday that Serb councilors will constitute the majority in the local assembly. "Kosovska Mitrovica will have Serb mayor" Ivanovic is a candidate of the citizen initiative "Serbia Democracy Justice" (SDP). He told Tanjug that the results of the re-run elections came out as expected, although he hoped for more votes in the first round of the polls. The preliminary results of the polls released on Monday by the Kosovo Central Electoral Commission (CEC) show that candidate of the Citizens' Initiative Srpska Krstimir Pantic won 37.06 percent of votes while Oliver Ivanovic of the citizen initiative SDP won 28.53 percent of votes. The two candidates will run for mayor in the second round of the local elections. Ivanovic said that he has better prospects of winning because his political opponent cannot get more votes than he already has, and added that he counts on the support of citizens who did not cast their ballots in the first round of the polls. Ivanovic said that the Citizens' Initiative Srpska and its candidate Pantic had the support of Serbia's institutions and officials in the electoral campaign, including pressures, coercion and forceful bringing to polling stations, and underscored that this cannot happen again. Commenting on the CEC decision made under OSCE pressure to count the ballots in Kosovo Polje near Pristina, Ivanovic said that SDP immediately opposed it. He noted that SDP sent a letter to all relevant bodies with the request for the ballot count to be performed in northern Kosovska Mitrovica at noon, immediately upon receiving the first information that OSCE is insisting on moving the process to Kosovo Polje. Ivanovic said that the Citizens' Initiative Srpska and its candidate Pantic did not show understanding at the time and did not join the call addressed by SDP, and that they reacted only after the polling stations closed and the packing of boxes began. He stated that it would have been better if the ballots were counted on the spot because this would have removed the possibility of rumours of manipulation, and underscored that he believes there were no reasons not to count the votes in northern Kosovska Mitrovica as the elections were marked by a peaceful atmosphere. Ivanovic believes that strong security measures and international supervision will be necessary in the second round of elections on December 1 in order to prevent potential incidents. (Tanjug, file) Tanjug

"Kosovska Mitrovica will have Serb mayor"

Ivanović is a candidate of the citizen initiative "Serbia Democracy Justice" (SDP).

He told Tanjug that the results of the re-run elections came out as expected, although he hoped for more votes in the first round of the polls.

The preliminary results of the polls released on Monday by the Kosovo Central Electoral Commission (CEC) show that candidate of the Citizens' Initiative Srpska Krstimir Pantić won 37.06 percent of votes while Oliver Ivanović of the citizen initiative SDP won 28.53 percent of votes. The two candidates will run for mayor in the second round of the local elections.

Ivanović said that he has better prospects of winning because his political opponent cannot get more votes than he already has, and added that he counts on the support of citizens who did not cast their ballots in the first round of the polls.

Ivanović said that the Citizens' Initiative Srpska and its candidate Pantić had the support of Serbia's institutions and officials in the electoral campaign, including pressures, coercion and forceful bringing to polling stations, and underscored that this cannot happen again.

Commenting on the CEC decision made under OSCE pressure to count the ballots in Kosovo Polje near Priština, Ivanović said that SDP immediately opposed it.

He noted that SDP sent a letter to all relevant bodies with the request for the ballot count to be performed in northern Kosovska Mitrovica at noon, immediately upon receiving the first information that OSCE is insisting on moving the process to Kosovo Polje.

Ivanović said that the Citizens' Initiative Srpska and its candidate Pantić did not show understanding at the time and did not join the call addressed by SDP, and that they reacted only after the polling stations closed and the packing of boxes began.

He stated that it would have been better if the ballots were counted on the spot because this would have removed the possibility of rumours of manipulation, and underscored that he believes there were no reasons not to count the votes in northern Kosovska Mitrovica as the elections were marked by a peaceful atmosphere.

Ivanović believes that strong security measures and international supervision will be necessary in the second round of elections on December 1 in order to prevent potential incidents.