At the border crossing in Merdare, Serbian election officials are sent back to their country (archive image).
(dpa) Kosovan police have barred a Serbian election official and two trucks carrying ballot papers for a referendum in Serbia from entering the Balkan country. The officer and three drivers were briefly detained at the Merdare border crossing before being turned back, and the ballots confiscated, Serbian Kosovo Chancellery director Petar Petkovic said on Saturday on state television RTS.
The police in Kosovo have not yet commented on the incident, media in the capital Pristina reported. A referendum will be held in Serbia on Sunday (16 January) on constitutional changes aimed at reducing the influence of politics on the judiciary. This is intended to meet the requirements of future EU accession.
In principle, the more than 100,000 ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have the right to vote. However, the leadership in Pristina made it clear that they can only exercise their right to vote by postal vote or by voting in the Serbian liaison office in Pristina. Serbia wanted to set up its own polling stations in the north of Kosovo, in the compact settlement area of the Kosovo Serbs.
Belgrade does not recognize Kosovo’s statehood. The former Serbian province is now populated almost exclusively by Albanians. In 2008 it declared its independence, which was recognized by more than 100 countries, including Germany.
Sunday’s referendum has met with little interest in Serbia. Independent experts pointed out that the constitutional amendments to be voted on are of a rather cosmetic nature.