13Feb2014
Participation in elections key to securing citizens’ rights, says Head of OSCE Mission to Serbia
Participation of all citizens of Serbia in the electoral process is key to securing citizens’ rights, said Ambassador Peter Burkhard, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, in the run-up to the 16 March early parliamentary elections in the country.
“All citizens of Serbia should fully exercise their right to vote in order to have their voice heard in the national Parliament,” Burkhard said.
He specifically urged the ethnic Albanian community from South Serbia to take part in the upcoming elections and to use this opportunity to participate in charting the entire region’s future along its European path.
“Fielding candidates and voting is a right and a duty of all citizens,” he said. “We encourage every ethnic Albanian individual from South Serbia to cast their ballot on 16 March, to ensure greater political representation for themselves in the society and progress of their own region.”
The OSCE Mission to Serbia and the limited election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights operate independently and under their separate mandates.