Contact office for political party registration opened in Kosovo

PRISTINA, 31 July 2001 (OSCE) - The OSCE-supported Department for Democratic Governance and Civil Society, part of Kosovo's Joint Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS), opened a contact office to assist with political party registration for the Kosovo elections scheduled for November this year.

The contact office will provide a place to make available documents related to political party registration, including applications from new parties. Once all application materials have been submitted - including a party's platform, statute and logo - they will then be on hand for review and comment by the public. This is part of the ongoing work of the Department to promote transparency in the political party registration process.

The Department for Democratic Governance and Civil Society has been given the responsibility to register political parties by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo Regulation No. 2001/16, entitled "On the Registration and Operation of Political Parties in Kosovo".

Five political parties are currently under consideration for registration. They are: the United Roma Party of Kosovo; the New Democratic Initiative in Kosovo; the Ashkalli Democratic League of Kosovo; the Republican Union of Kosovo; and the Albanian National Democratic League.

A final decision on registration will be given following a fourteen-day period when the public can come to the contact office and submit comments. The Department will take pertinent comments into consideration in making its decision about the registration application of a political party.

The contact office is located in the INEX building next to the OSCE Headquarters in Pristina, and will be open weekdays from 9:30 to 13:30 hours.

For further information please contact Katherine Gallagher, Department for Democratic Governance and Civil Society, tel. (+381-38) 504 604, ext. 5639; or Habit Hajredini, Democratic Governance Bureau, tel. (+381-38) 504 604, ext. 6586.