UNMIK/PR/1255
Pristina – The SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen this morning visited the voting counting centre in Pristina and said he was impressed by the highly professional, highly sophisticated system in place for the counting process. “What I have seen here today is very reassuring. This is a very fool-proof process. No doubt about that”, said the SRSG.
He added that even while the counting is still going on, it is already evident that the voters who went out in big numbers yesterday, the Central Election Commission and above all, Kosovo, are the “clear winners”.
The SRSG said he expected that as soon the final results are published, the political parties would “first of all accept them and get down to work”. Søren Jessen-Petersen went on to say that this meant that those political parties that represent the Kosovo Albanians must hear and act upon the message from voters yesterday calling for jobs and better living conditions. But he stressed that it is also important to listen to the voices of the minorities, and particularly to the Kosovo Serbs. “Listen to the voice of those few who voted, but also listen to the voice of many, who either decided not to vote, probably for good reasons, or those who were too afraid to vote. They also have some concerns about the rule of law, the protection of minorities and decentralisation”.
Søren Jessen-Petersen appealed to those elected to move swiftly. “We don’t have a lot of time. If you want to move Kosovo forward, get down to work as quickly as possible, get on with it”, concluded the SRSG.