VIENNA, 7 May 2012 - The OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, today welcomed the peaceful conclusion of the OSCE-run ballot facilitation that allowed eligible voters in Kosovo to cast ballots in the 6 May Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections. The OSCE completed the handover of sealed ballot boxes to the Serbian Election Commission at counting centres in Vranje and Raksa in the early hours of this morning. “I commend the restraint shown by all parties which allowed for the peaceful conduct of the OSCE-run balloting facilitation,” he said. “This exercise was only possible because of the responsible behaviour of the relevant political actors as well as the strong support and co-operation given by the local institutions and the international community, in particular the police, KFOR and EULEX.” “I would also like to express my gratitude to the entire staff of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, as well as those who came to support this exercise from all the other OSCE field operations in the region. Their achievement in completing this extremely challenging task in just five days shows the OSCE at its very best. ” The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has some 680 personnel. For the balloting facilitation exercise 300 locally recruited short-term staff were hired in addition to 200 OSCE staff members deployed from the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and other field operations in South-Eastern Europe.

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