Kosovo flag in PristinaBELGRADE, Jan 16Kosovo Serbs held a peaceful protest in the northern part of the city of Kosovska Mitrovica due to Pristina's ban on holding a referendum on changes to the Serbian constitution, Serbian national television reports. in 8,029 polling stations throughout Serbia, with the exception of Kosovo and Metohija. Over 6.5 million people have the right to vote. Kosovo «Prime Minister» Albin Kurti said on January 13 that Serbs in the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo would be able to participate in the referendum by mail or at a liaison office in Pristina. The Kosovo Albanian authorities are categorically against holding a referendum in Serb-populated areas, despite calls from international missions and Western embassies. On Saturday evening, the Kosovo «parliament» approved a resolution against the referendum. The Serbian electoral committee has decided that voters from Kosovo and Metohija can vote in four cities of central Serbia — Kursumlija, Raska, Novi Pazar and Vranje. >Vučić voted in a referendum on changes to the Serbian constitution Several hundred Serbs on Sunday peacefully marched through the center of northern Mitrovica, where a symbolic vote took place — several people put sheets with the inscriptions «Yes to freedom» and «No life in slavery» into an impromptu ballot box. Goran Rakic, the leader of the largest Kosovo Serb party «Serbian List», addressed the audience. «The Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija stand firmly with their state Serbia and want to vote in a referendum on constitutional changes in the field of justice. , Germany, France, Italy — ed.) and other international forces to ensure the right to vote for the Serbs in Kosovo, just as it was before in all electoral processes, subject to agreements, procedures and practices,» the TV channel quotes the politician. «Therefore, I now declare that the Serbian elections (presidential and parliamentary — ed.) will be held on April 3 in all regions of Kosovo,» Rakic said. It is also reported that 23 buses left for the vote in the city of Kursumlija in central Serbia with voters. In total, according to the Serbian election commission, by 10.00 (12.00 Moscow time), 3.61% of voters voted, the expression of will takes place without incident. The question for the referendum is formulated as follows: «Do you agree with the confirmation of the act on changing the constitution of Serbia?» We are talking about the procedure for selecting judges in all bodies of the legal system — from the main courts to the constitutional one. The country's parliament previously abolished the 50% turnout threshold for a referendum to take place, now a simple majority of votes is sufficient. Members of the Serbian leadership, headed by President Aleksandar Vučić, have repeatedly urged citizens to give a positive answer to the plebiscite question. Amendments to the constitution provide for the formation of a High Council of Judges (HJC) in the country, which will consist of six delegates from judges, four experienced lawyers elected by parliament, and a chairman Supreme Court. The HJC itself will approve judges in the country. The High Council of Prosecutors with similar powers will be formed in a similar way. Previously, judges and prosecutors with a probationary period for the first three years were elected by the parliament, that is, the ruling majority in the Assembly. The embassies of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the EU delegation on Friday called on the citizens of Serbia to go to a referendum in a joint open statement. Western diplomats are «confident that these reforms are the way forward for Serbia's alignment with EU standards, which will help the process of Serbia's integration into the EU.» Russian senators as part of the observer mission from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly take part in the monitoring at the referendum. The delegation included, in particular, members of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Elena Afanasyeva and Sergey Berezkin.
