UNMIK/PR/854
Wednesday, 23 October 2002

UNMIK Welcomes SNC call to vote

UNMIK welcomes the Serb National Council's decision to call on Kosovo Serbs to participate in municipal elections on Saturday.

Voting in these elections demonstrates a commitment to Kosovo's institutions and paves the way for accelerated integration, multi-ethnicity and integration. It is also the prerequisite for beginning the process of decentralization to municipal sub-units.

However, Simon Haselock, Director of the UNMIK Division of Public Information, notes that the SNC's announcement has misrepresented UNMIK's concept for decentralization as a concession to Serb demands.

UNMIK's decentralization concept is based on European norms and the need to invigorate local government by devolving power to the lowest level feasible.

Decentralization in Kosovo was first envisioned in a regulation on municipal government in the year 2000 and the concept was integrated into the Constitutional Framework.