Σάββατο 27 Νοεμβρίου 2010

Dead President Rugova Still On Kosovo Electoral Roll


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Thursday, 18 November 2010 11:12 Written by BIRN

By Petrit CollakuThe name of Kosovo's first president, Ibrahim Rugova, who died in 2006, has again appeared on the electoral roll on the website of the Central Election Commission for general elections due on December 12.
Rugova's name did not appear on the list for the 2009 local elections after having previously been present on the list for the 2007 elections.

The presence of the Kosovo's first president on the electoral roll comes despite campaigns before the 2007 and 2009 polls to eradicate dead people on the voters' list. Kosovo's interior ministry, in charge of updating the registry, said the most recent list was compiled and altered on the basis of death certificates supplied by the municipalities.

Blerim Camaj, head of the registry agency, said officials in charge of updating the voting list were 99 per cent certain that they had eliminated deceased people from the list. "It might be another person called Ibrahim Rugova," Camaj told Balkan Insight, despite the fact that the Rugova on the electoral roll shares the same birthday.

He added that it is usually up to families to report the deaths of relatives to their municipal authorities. However, "It is a custom of people in Kosovo not to report the deaths of family members, which creates problems".

Camaj said the electoral roll had been sent to the Central Election Commission ten days ago, and it was too late to make changes. "It's too late now," he said, "but it would be good if the media reminded people to report the deaths of loved ones."

But the Central Election Commission, CEC, which in charge of organising next months snap poll, told Balkan Insight that the list is "preliminary" and can be updated by citizens between November 22 and 26. CEC spokesman Fehmi Ajvazi could not, however, offer any explanation to why Rugova's name had reappeared on the list after having been removed for the 2009 elections.

"We continue to have problems with people who do not report deaths of family members to the courts," he said, adding that they must pay 20 euro and send a letter to the municipality to ensure that their loved-one's name is removed.

Rugova is not the only deceased person on the voting list. Balkan Insight has checked the names of other deceased persons whose families said they reported the deaths to the Pristina municipality, in spite of which their names also appear on the list of voters.

Balkan Insight reported in September that one 123-year-old woman, and another aged 120-year-old, had voted in November last year. If both had been alive they would represent the oldest people on earth.

But according to the most recent electoral roll, they remain registered to vote.

Rugova's name was removed from the website last night after Balkan Insight contacted the CEC.

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