Srpska Republika News Agency (SRNA), 97-09-13

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From: The Serbian Unity Congress Server at http://www.suc.org

SEPT. 13 1997 EVENING

NEWS REVIEW, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

SARAJEVO - The first day of the elections in all of the RS municipalities passed without any problems, except in Brcko, with the satisfactorily turnout of the voters. Out of 114,000 registered voters or 24,56%, about 28, 000 citizens voted at 65 polling stations in Banjaluka just an hour before these stations closed. According to the latest data of the Local Electoral Commission, some 4,883 voters or 49,62% voted in the Municipality of Sokolac. According to incomplete data, 37,5% of the registered voters casted their ballots in Pale. Upon the OSCE's order, the balloting station for voting in absentia was closed in Brcko at about 16:30 p.m. The order was accompanied with a short explanation, without any details, that the elections are being interrupted 'because of the irregularities noticed'. Some 270 persons voted at this polling station by the time it was closed, of which some 109 persons with appeals used the possibility of special envelops, i.e. to vote for Brcko on an unverified ballots which are then to be forwarded to Sarajevo to be verified and counted. Some 73 persons voted in absentia in Brcko for the cities where they lived in 1991 and from which they were expelled. One more fault on the part of the OSCE was noticed in Brcko during the afternoon, of which a computer showed that 150 Serbs from the city are left out from the final voter registration list and are instructed to vote on unverified ballots. The OSCE acknowledged its fault and included these 150 persons in the final voter list. About 1,000 Serbs more have yet to be included in the final voter list for Brcko, who were previously registered twice and included in the provisional voter registration list, but then just over the night have disappeared from the voter registration list. A quite poor turnout of the voters from the Federation of B&H was noticed during the first day of the elections for the local authorities in RS . Out of 1,300 registered voters, only two persons voted at the polling station of Mishin Han, near Banjaluka, which is anticipated for the voters from the Federation of B&H. According to the first information, the first day of voting, to the satisfaction of the organisers, participants and observers, passed without an incident and in a fair atmosphere at the polling stations throughout RS./19440, 19401, 19403, 19405, 19406, 19409, 19410, 19412, 19413, 19414, 19415, 19416, 19417, 19418, 19419, 19422, 19423, 19424, 19425, 19426, 19427, 19428, 19429,

19430, 19432, 19434, 19435, 19436, 19437, 19438, 19439, 19440, 19441, 19442, 19443, 19444,, 19445, 19446, 19449, 19450/

BANJALUKA - The OSCE Mission spokesman, Johann Ferhaiden warned in Banjaluka of the problems being faced by the Serbs during their travelling to vote in Drvar. Ferhaiden specified at a press conference that nine buses with voters from RS are at the moment on their way to Drvar, while six buses are waiting in Mrkonjic Grad. 'All of the buses are with Belgrade license plates. Drvar is the place where a great number of people will cross the inter-entity boundary line and vote in the FB&H', explained the OSCE spokesman. He pointed out that the local Croatian officials at the polling stations in Drvar are working extremely slowly, claiming that 'they do not know Cyrillic alphabet and voters from RS do not know Latin alphabet'.

BELGRADE - The first day of voting for the municipal authorities in RS and the Federation of B&H passed with the satisfactorily turnout of voters at nine polling stations in Belgrade, but with numerous irregularities caused because of the OSCE faults. The voters are, in most of the cases, complaining that they are left from the voter registration lists, even though they possess the appropriate certifications on registration.

BELGRADE - The secretary of the Commissariats for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, Vlado Cucic, expressed his pleasure with the turnout of citizens at the balloting stations in Serbia, but also his dissatisfaction because the OSCE did not carry out the registration and preparations for the elections adequately. 'We have a lot of objections made by citizens, because there are many of them who are not included in the voter registration list, even though they had registered themselves, or they are offered with an option which they decided not to accept. Some of the envelopes are missing at each of the total 61 polling stations in Serbia, while there are at certain balloting stations even 200, 300 or 500 envelopes with the electoral material missing', stated Cucic in a statement for the Serbian Press Agency - SRNA. He added that he has not expected such an improvisation from a serious organisation as the OSCE is.

NOVI SAD - Out of 7,300 registered refugees, about 1,150 refugees or 15,7% voted at two polling stations in Novi Sad for the local elections in RS and the Federation of B&H. According to the head of the Electoral Commission, Milena Dakic, the electoral procedure is unfolding normally, but extremely slowly because of the thorough checking of the voter identities and voter lists. 'If such an electoral procedure continues even on Sunday, just now it is known for certain that the voting of all the registered voters will not be physically possible at these two polling stations', said Dakic.

SARAJEVO - While visiting the polling stations in Pale, the representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Lord Russel Johnston, stated for the Serbian Press Agency - SRNA that the elections 'are proceeding regularly and without any problems, and if such situation does not change everything will be done on a satisfactorily way'. Lord Johnston did not want to pass a comment on the problems faced by voters in Brcko, who were unfairly left out from the final voter list, as well as on the similar technical failures of the OSCE at other balloting stations in RS, explaining that that is not in the domain of his visit and the observing of the local elections.

VUKOVAR - Following a discussion on the fulfilment of rights to have school autonomy of Serbs in Croatia, the Serbian National Council decided that a delegation of the Serbian National Council will ask soon to be received at the Croatian president Franjo Tudjman in order to inform him about the problems in education, but also about the other spheres of life. While assessing the results of the return of refugees to their homes as positive, the members of the Presidency of the Serbian National Council condemned 'numerous obstacles emerging in that process and which are discriminating on direct or indirect way the Serbs in their right to return'.

/end/

From the Serbian Unity Congress Server at http://www.suc.org

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